Written by Barry Reese
"The Immortal X-O, Part II"
October 22, 1999. The Home of Aric Dacia. 1:45 AM.
Aric Dacia slept soundly, a satisfied expression on his face. He didn't even notice when his bed companion slipped from the sheets and pulled a thin robe on over her slender form. She cast one more glance at Aric to make sure he was still sleeping and then moved on, crossing the room silently and stepping out into the hall.
She gazed down at the object in her hand, savoring her moment of triumph. She'd slipped it from Aric's finger during their lovemaking, always careful to avoid making eye contact with the Visigoth. If she had done that and he had noticed.... all would have been lost.
But the barbarian had been lost in lust, too eager to meet his own physical desires to notice that one of her normally green eyes was now brown -- a sure sign that Gamin, his lover, was no longer herself.
In point of fact, she was not herself. Inside her body was the spirit of General Cheng -- the Immortal Enemy. First slain by Gilad Anni-Padda centuries ago, he had found himself able to reincarnate himself if necessary, and body-hop under certain circumstances. With the recent exiting of the Darque Power, he had felt his own supply dwindling. With no obvious sign of replinishment coming, he needed something else to secure his continued existence -- and he had just found it.
The Immortal Enemy slipped the xo control ring onto Gamin's finger and whispered the words that she'd heard Aric use earlier in the day... "Good Skin, to me."
Cheng braced then, waiting for the moment when the alien armor would fly to him and wrap itself around Gamin's beautiful body... and he waited and he waited.
When nothing happened, he whirled about in confusion -- and stared straight into the face of Aric Dacia. Aric's face was contorted with strain and the metallic sphere that was the armor's resting form hovered behind him. It wavered in the air, as if torn between two lovers. "Gamin... What are you doing?"
Cheng smiled, adopting as many of Gamin's mannerisms as possible. "Sorry, Aric -- I just couldn't resist. I wanted to feel it..."
Aric reached out and grabbed her hand roughly. She cried out but he didn't let go. "You stole from me!"
"No, Aric... It's not like that." She moved closer to him, confused by the fact that he'd been able to control the armor without the ring. Had the years of use formed some sort of bond between them, between man and armor? When she was within striking distance, she brought up a knee. It drove hard into Aric's groin and caused him to fall back.
The sudden freedom that the move brought her sent Gamin into action. She leapt at the sphere, grabbing it out of the air. Aric reached out and snagged her leg, keeping her from fleeing with the armor. "No... You're not leaving. Not until you explain this!"
Gamin bent low, bringing her face close to Aric's. "Look at my eyes, Visigoth! If you had been able to tear your gaze from these breasts you might have noticed something different -- and familiar!"
Aric stared into the miscolored eyes and felt his whole world spinning away from him. "No... Klitus...."
"Yes, Klitus. The same Centurion you killed so many years ago. But this time, the tables are turned." Gamin kicked outwards, driving her bare foot hard into Aric's face. She did this repeatedly, as if she could stamp him out of existence. When she finally paused, her chest was heaving from the exertion and warm, slippery blood covered her heel. With a victorious smile, she lifted the sphere higher and looked at it. "Immortality is mine. And this time, Gilad Anni-Padda will suffer."
October 23. Orb Headquarters, Northern California. 9:35 AM.
"Yes, it's really me! And no, I can't tell you where I've been the past three years -- but trust me, you really don't want to know. I was wondering if you wanted to -- what? Married? To a woman? Oh, good god...."
Ken Clarkson slammed the phone down on his desk and let out a deep sigh. Since his holographic resurrection, he'd struggled to come to terms with his new existence, but it was proving difficult. The projector, which now sat on a bookshelf in his office, only had a range of about 30 feet. This meant that Ken was limited in how far he could travel. Not that it mattered, since he had no one left who wanted to see him, anyway. Andre had been his last, best hope.
Ken looked up as he heard people in the hall passing by, their voices hushed but insistent. The words "murder" and "Ketch" caught his attention. Opening the door, he peered out into a scene of madness. Policemen were walking in and out of Doris Ketch's office, crime scene paraphenalia everywhere.
Aric's secretary, her face wet with tears, was shaking her head at a questioning police officer. "No, Mr. Dacia isn't in yet. I left a message for him on his machine, though. God, this is horrible!"
Ken shut his door and bit his lip. Doris Ketch, murdered? This was serious.... He couldn't actually pick up his own transmitter and carry it with him, meaning he was locked here in this room until someone picked it up for him -- but he could damn well use the phone. Knowing Aric, he was probably out hunting with Turok. Instances like this were the very reason, he'd given a beeper to both the Dinosaur Hunter and Aric. Dialing in Aric's number first, he left an urgent message for him. Deciding that it wouldn't hurt to try Turok as well, he did so.
Less than a minute later, the phone rang and Ken picked it up. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure how or why people could hear him on the phone. If he was just a hard light projection that fooled people into thinking he looked like Ken Clarkson, how could it work over a phone line with no visual component? Stranger and stranger. "Hello? Aric?"
The strong voice on the other end replied in the negative. "This is Turok."
"Ah, okay. Well, you'll do. You need to find Aric and fast -- something's really wrong at Orb."
The home of Aric Dacia. 1:30 PM.
Turok could sense that something was wrong, even before the door opened. A lifetime of living with danger had trained the hunter's senses to a keen edge -- and right now, every internal alarm he possessed was going off. He was reaching for his bow when Gamin opened the door. She was smiling and looked very pleased. "Can I help you?"
Turok brushed past her without waiting for an invitation. "Aric... Where is he?"
Gamin's smile faltered somewhat. "Forget your manners, Turok? He's not here -- now, will you please get out?"
Turok sniffed the air. Blood, fresh, could still be smelled. He turned towards Gamin, his face cold and hard. "Again I ask you -- Where is he?"
Gamin gestured towards the back. "Fine. Down the hall."
In a flash, Turok had crouched, drawing forth his bow and notching an arrow. He let fly before even Cheng could react, burying his shot deep into Gamin's left shoulder.
The reason for his sudden attack was simple -- on the hand that Gamin had gestured with was Aric's control ring, something that his blood brother would never part with willingly.
Gamin touched her bloody shoulder and snarled "Stinking Indian! You've made a mistake -- to me!"
Turok watched as the xo armor flew over his head and exploded over Gamin, wrapping her in its embrace. He felt no fear as he faced down his far more powerful opponent, only a cold fury that this woman had obviously betrayed his brother.
He notched another arrow.
Gilad Anni-Padda, the Eternal Warrior, watched in silence as the stretcher took Doris Ketch's lifeless body from the building. He'd warned Aric that Cheng was about, but the Visigoth had ignored him.
Try as he might, however, Gilad couldn't bring himself to hate Aric. They were too alike, both warriors at heart and both sometimes too hot-tempered for their own good. And both had lost so many friends and lovers...
The Eternal Warrior turned away from the scene and sighed. Aric hadn't come into work yet and the police were, most likely, going to pay him a visit soon. If Gilad wanted to get there first, he had to do it quickly.
Turok, Son of Stone, gritted his teeth in an effort to block out the pain. A huge gash in his leg was spilling blood down his leather breeches and numerous small scratches added to the discomfort. He was outside the house now, on the run from the murderous Gamin. He was still in the dark as to why she had done this, but questions like that had to be put aside in favor of survival.
An ion cannon blast tore apart the tree behind which Turok had been resting. Its splintered shards fell about him as Gamin, cloaked in the X-O armor, moved closer. She was hovering in the air, a look of ecstacy on her face. "The Power! You can't possibly conceive of the power that's in this armor!"
Turok rolled and fired another arrow. This one melted before it ever landed, however, as Gamin powered up the armor even more. "You have betrayed a man who loved you... If you have killed him, you shall rue your actions."
Gamin's laughter chilled Turok's blood. "I'm sorry, Turok -- you have me confused with someone else. Aric never loved me. He might have loved this cow, but never me." The X-O armor's ion cannon hummed to life once again, firing another volley of energy bursts at Turok.
The dinosaur hunter evaded the first few blasts, his injured leg slowing him down somewhat. But eventually the attacks became too much and one of them sent him flying down an embankment. He hurt several trees and rocks on the way down, sliding towards the small road below.
The Immortal Enemy watched as Turok landed hard on the asphalt. He raised a gauntleted hand, prepared to deliver a killing blow... but something, deep inside, stopped him. His arm twitched and his face registered the internal struggle. "Do...not...resist...ME!"
He fired, but the shot went wild as his arm jerked to the left. Shaking, he dropped to the ground and shook his head. Only once before had a host managed to thwart his control -- his immortal enemy, the Eternal Warrior. This Gamin would never have been able to do it, if he hadn't been so weak. His increasingly dwindling Darque Power was beginning to show its effect. This body, though firm and strong, isn't what I need. Dacia... I must have Dacia. The armor recognizes him, has a connection to him -- that may be all I need to maintain control over him.
Without giving another thought to Turok, the Immortal Enemy flew back to the house.
If he had remained, he might have seen a motorcyle approach and slow as its rider caught sight of Turok. As it was, however, he had no clue that Gilad Anni-Padda had arrived.
Cheng examined his wound in the mirror. Turok's arrow had pierced deep, meaning that this host was dying. He had to make the switch soon, while he still could. Stepping into the bedroom, he saw that Aric was beginning to stir. The barbarian was well-tied to the bedposts, but Cheng knew that the savage's fierce strength could free him in time. He reached over to a sword that was mounted on the wall and pulled it free.
"Rise and shine, Dacia."
Aric fixed his gaze on Cheng, his eyes blazing. "What have you done to Gamin?"
Cheng ran a hand languidly over his host's flat belly and cupped a breast. "She's doing just fine, Dacia. She's been in here, watching the whole time. Watching while you rutted with this body like an animal in heat. It sickened her."
Aric growled and thrashed against his bonds, but they held tight. "I'll kill you, Klitus! For good this time!"
"Call me Cheng, Aric -- and you won't be killing anyone. When I saw you on television, reclaiming Orb, I remembered you -- remembered how you hurt me. How you taunted me. I wanted to know your secret and now I have it. The armor is mine. Immortality is mine."
"Leave her be. I swear, I'll send your soul straight to Hell if you don't."
Cheng, in Gamin's body, straddled Aric on the bed. The sword rested in Gamin's right hand. "I'm damned already, Aric -- a thousand times over. But I will leave your woman. She's dying. Killed by your friend, Turok. But that works out just fine -- I need her to die, so that I can move into your body."
Aric's eyes opened wide. "No...."
Cheng grinned. He reached out one hand and touched Aric's cheek. With the other, he swung the sword out and brought it back in, quick and hard. The sharp edge slashed deep into Gamin's throat. For one horrible second, Aric though he saw Gamin again -- her green eyes open in horror and terror.
Then, Aric Dacia was no more.
The Immortal Enemy began to work at his bonds, eager to be free. He wanted the dead woman off of him, wanted to experience life in his new form.
He was handsome.
He was powerful.
He was Immortal.
NEXT ISSUE : "The Immortal X-O" comes to its shocking conclusion! Turok and the Eternal Warrior vs. the Immortal Enemy & the X-O armor! Plus : Gamin's fate revealed!
AUTHOR'S NOTES
I promised there would be shocking twists in the Aric/Gamin relationship, didn't I? Well, hold on to your seats 'cause it's not over yet. Next issue not only guest-stars the Eternal Warrior and Turok, but a surprise Valiant hero as well. How he'll play into the climax of "The Immortal X-O" will have to be seen to be believed!
Hope you're enjoying things as much as I am.