Lessee… The Global Protectors and the Wraith Lord are copyright Doctor Droid\n(www.superstories.net/droidzone), other characters and text are copyright Marcus\nLycus. Most of the background is my own, if something does not fit the good\ndoctor’s vision or the established world of Megapolis then just assume it\nhappened on Earth 2 ? J
\nAny resemblance between characters in this story and any actual persons living\nor dead is purely coincidental. Please e-mail me with any comments, complaints\nor suggestions.
\nPrologue 1: 1331 AD
\n\"Forward men!\" The white armored knight cried, leading the men-at-arms deeper\ninto the dungeons below Castle Kafke. \"The dark wizard is no match for our\nlight!\" To emphasize the point the Silver Templar waved a silver sword overhead\ncatching the torchlight and reflecting the knight’s face-concealing helmet.
\n\"For justice! For truth! For honor!\" the knight began.
\n\"Hail Sir Justin and the Silver Templar!\" the warriors replied.
\nBut marching down the dark stone corridor the men began to feel apprehensive.\nAll of them had heard the legends of the sorcerer who inhabited this castle and\nthey were enough to deter even the bravest crusaders. Only the fearless voice of\ntheir leader lent them the strength to go on. They had followed the Silver\nTemplar from one end of Europe to the other battling the forces of darkness. In\nthat time their champion had never faltered and never failed. Yet none of them\nhad ever seen the Templar’s face, for the knight had sworn an oath not to remove\nthe face-concealing helmet until the crusade was complete.
\nThe corridor was surprisingly long, leading deep into the mountain. Over time a\ncold mist grew up wrapping itself around the warriors’ legs. The squad once\nagain hesitated and refused to continue.
\n\"What is this?\" the knight demanded \"Afraid of some fog and some conjurer’s\ntricks? Are we not men?\"
\n\"Funny you should ask Silver Templar…\" whispered a voice from the mists. The\nunnerved warriors grew more concerned and started to back away.
\n\"Show yourself fiend!\"
\nBut the mist just grew colder and thicker enveloping the white armored warrior.\nLeather straps began to freeze and snap loose allowing the iron-reinforced\nshield to fall to the ground. The Templar’s sword hand grew numb, dropping the\nshining sword to the ground. Chain mail grew wet, then rusty and finally\ndissolved. The lower half of the armor virtually disintegrated exposing the\nknight’s shapely legs. The Silver Templar was literally falling to pieces.
\n\"S-stop! I command you!\" the Templar stuttered as the armored chest plate fell\nto the ground showing a pair of beautiful round breasts concealed only by a bit\nof thin cotton. The concealing helmet split down the center exposing her pretty\nface and freeing her shinning platinum blond hair. In minutes the knight was\nstripped bare but for a wet cotton undergarment.
\n\"It seems Sir Justin the Silver Templar, champion of truth, has a secret of her\nown. Or should I call you, Lady Justine?\"
\nThe men-at-arms stood astonished at the true face of their leader, all this time\nthey had been lead by a woman? An attractive woman?
\nShe turned towards her men looking for the words to explain, how her brother had\ntaken ill before he was to leave for the crusades, how the Angel Gabriel had\nappeared to her in a dream telling her to take up his mantle and giving her the\npower she needed to banish darkness. How she had learned early on that no one\nwould follow a woman warrior so she had created the Silver Templar as a\ndisguise. She tried to say all of this before the angry warriors turned on her\nbut all that could come out was a few muttered sounds.
\n\"She’s a witch!\" one spearman cried.
\n\"Burn her!\" the crossbowman added.
\nThe men, her once loyal followers, fell upon her in seconds tearing off her\nremaining garment and binding her with coarse ropes. More than once adventurous\nhands groped her breasts and rear. The men had been away from home a long time.
\n\"Bring her men, bring her to me…\" the voice whispered seductively. The men\nhesitated.
\n\"She lied to you didn’t she, deceived you…\"
\n\"Don’t listen! Release me! We can still-mmph!\" Justine’s voice was silenced as a\nrag was jammed in her mouth.
\n\"I will reward you, bring me the trollop…\" the voice in the mist whispered\nagain. This time the men’s reluctance ended. With a cheer they carried Justine,\nthe former Silver Templar down the corridor into the waiting arms of the Wraith\nLord.
\nShe was the first great heroine to fall to him. She was not the last.
\nPrologue 2: 1867 AD
\nOne warm summer morning Lady Lauren Crowe rode up the steep path to Castle Kafke\nher long braid waving behind her. Her two companions followed, eyeing the castle\nwarily. For months now she had been on the trail of the lost sword of the Silver\nTemplar, a legendary artifact from the Middle Ages. She had thought it lost\nforever until she had found a hidden cache of letters from the Silver Templar to\nSir Justin, an obscure French Knight who had spent his last years dying of\ninfluenza. The letters revealed much about this mysterious 14th century champion\nof justice, including hints the Silver Templar was in fact Sir Justin’s sister\nthe Lady Justine. It had also given up the Silver Templar’s final destination,\nCastle Kafke, where he (or she) intended to confront the legendary Wraith Lord.
\nFor Lady Crowe this was an irresistible opportunity to recover a priceless\nartifact and, perhaps, find the truth about a heroine who had been lost to\nhistory. Even in these enlightened times Lauren Crowe was an oddity, a woman who\nclaimed equality with men and competed with them on an equal basis. She called\nherself a relic hunter though her rivals called her a mere tomb raider. With her\ncompanions Bridgett O’Malley (her mystic and scholarly advisor) and Running Deer\n(an American Indian whose life she had saved) she had explored the world from\nthe pyramids of Egypt to the jungles of Brazil. Her reputation had inspired\nother women to leave the kitchen and take up a more active life, in the future\nher legend would be retold in pulp novels, comic books, a short-lived TV series\nstarring Jaclyn Smith and even a line of best-selling video games. But she had\nno way of knowing that. For this was her last mission.
\nThe three women rode through the open gates and into the abandoned courtyard.
\n\"I don’t like this Brave Crow.\" Running Dear said sniffing the air as she\ndismounted and strung her bow. \"I see no one, but I feel something watching us.\"
\n\"Aye, I feel it too\" Bridgett agreed, fishing out a book from her saddlebag.\n\"The histories say this place had been abandoned for nigh-unto eight centuries\nbut it seems too intact. M’lady we had best be wary.\"
\n\"Bridgett, how many times must I tell you, call me Lauren, we have been friends\nfar too long for you to call me ‘my lady’\".
\n\"Sorry m’lady.\" Bridgett said, completing the old joke. She had been raised as\nLauren’s servant and old habits died hard. \"But I feel the oppressive evil here,\nit is very strong.\"
\n\"Don’t get spooked you two\" Lauren said tying up her horse. \"Remember that time\nin the Valley of the Dead, or those voodoo priests in Haiti? If there’s\nsomething here we’ll be ready for it.\"
\nThe other two nodded and followed her into the keep. Lauren’s long dark brown\nhair was bound in a tight braid running down her back. She wore tight brown\nleather riding breeches, black knee-high boots and a loose cotton shirt, with\njust enough buttons undone to shock polite company or distract a foe. Her mighty\nbreasts had saved her that way on more than one occasion. Two matching ivory\nhandled revolvers hung at her hips and a throwing dagger was hidden in each\nboot. Bridgett followed closely behind. Her red cotton dress extended almost to\nher ankles and her hat shielded her green eyes from the sun. At her side was\nsatchel containing her equipment and paraphernalia. In her hands she held a\nwell-worn leather book. Running Deer trailed behind turning frequently to watch\ntheir backs, the fringe on her sleeves and two long braids whipping around. In\nher hands was her father’s bow, an arrow already notched. She wore a tan leather\ndress (cut short on her legs to give her mobility) that clung tightly to her\nproud breasts (there was no reason for this, it just was). The three of them had\nlong explored the dark corners of the world and overcome all kinds of threats,\nnatural, human, and supernatural.
\nA quick examination of the keep found nothing but dusty furniture (Bridgett\nwondered why it had never been looted) and bird droppings (Bridgett had nothing\ninsightful to say about that). Finally Lauren ordered them to split up and\nsearch the rest of the grounds for an entrance to the tunnels under the castle,\nthe legendary ‘dungeons of despair’.
\nOn her own, Bridgett felt more apprehensive. She was no fighter and even with\nher own considerable mystic talents she felt vulnerable without her more\naggressive companions. Walking on the ground between a guardhouse and outer wall\na cold wind began to blow almost knocking her off her feet. She had felt\nsomething like it once in Ireland. It was soon after she discovered her Druidic\nheritage, when those mysterious guardians of the Celtic forests had trained her\nto fight the dark forces of the world. Realizing she might be under attack she\nopened her book and quickly recited a spell of protection against darkness.
\nThe wind stopped.
\nLooking around she caught sight of Lady Crowe walking towards her. Bridgett\nimmediately felt relived and called out to her. \"M’lady! Did you feel that wind,\nstrange things are afoot I fear!\"
\nShe noticed Lauren’s shirt was buttoned even lower now, showing off more of her\nproud breasts and even (she noticed) her erect nipples. Looking at her Bridgett\nshuddered for a second, remembering that night they had spend together in the\ncold deserts of Egypt, clinging to each other to stay warm... Such a night.
\nLauren stopped and called out to her \"Bridgett may I approach you?\"
\nInstinctively, Bridgett replied \"Of course m’lady but why do you even have to\nask-\" she realized a second too late, she had been tricked! But before she could\neven think of a spell Lauren’s hand was on her throat.
\n\"Amateur\" the Succubus said. \"Protective spells do not work when you invite the\ndemons in!\"
\nRunning Deer moved silently on her soft leather moccasins alert to every sound\nand every smell. Hearing Bridgett’s strangled cry she sprang into action,\nleaping on to the outer wall with the speed and grace of her namesake, a notched\narrow ready to fly. She landed on her feet on the ground between the guardhouse\nand the wall but there was no sign of the Irish girl. A quick examination of the\nearth yielded what had happened. Bridgett had been walking when she was\napproached by… Brave Crow? No. The tracks were right but the pattern of walking\nwas wrong, someone impersonating Brave Crow then. Bridgett was then dragged…\nthis way.
\nThe trail lead inside to a staircase leading down into the mountain.
\n\"Brave Crow!\" she called out to her leader. \"Brave Crow! Come quickly!\" But no\nanswer came, she could not even hear Lady Crowe. Had she been taken as well?
\nThen she heard another cry from within. Waiting no longer, she charged into the\ndarkness searching for her friend. Her keen senses turned night into day she\ncould smell her friend ahead and smell the unnatural thing that had her captive.\nFocused on her quarry she ignored the mist around her feet, even as it raised\ngoosebumps on her bare legs.
\nIt was not until the mist grew claws and cut her strong legs that she realized\nthe threat. Rolling on the floor Running Deer fired several arrows into the\nmist, each one carrying a talisman her shaman had taught her to make as a child.\nThe arrows passed through easily but the magic within them hurt the creature. It\nhowled. Running Deer dropped her bow and drew her talisman covered tomahawk.
\nAnother cry rang through the tunnel and Running Deer turned to see Bridgett,\nheld in the arms of some evil copy of her leader. \"Foolish red savage, you\nshould know better than to be distracted in a fight!\" Before the Indian huntress\ncould recover, a claw materialized, catching her hand, and another struck her\nagain and again until she lost consciousness.
\nLady Crowe walked carefree through the castle grounds. She was happiest at these\ntimes, starting an adventure absolutely pregnant with promise. She had a feeling\nthat the Mystery of the Templar’s Sword would be a very memorable case indeed.
\nA cold wind kicked up making her shiver on this warm summer’s day. She was\nsurprised by it, the temperature very rarely affected her, it was one of her\ngifts. Growing up she had always been stronger and faster than other girls, and\neven the boys. In time, her reflexes and skills approached superhuman levels, in\nall her travels only Running Deer was her equal. But this wind was not just cold\nit was unrelenting, cutting to the bone.
\nIt reminded her of another time, long ago in the mountains of Botswana, on the\nroad to the lost valley of Va’al. Where she had met… She put it out of her head,\nshe did not need to be distracted now. Anyway it was over, he had remained\nbehind to be king of his people and she had left to continue her adventures.\nHeart breaking, but such was life.
\nThe wind ceased as quickly as it had started. No doubt it was some freak of the\nmountain weather. The others might attribute it to something supernatural but\nLauren Crowe was a modern woman, she fully believed that, in time, the natural\nsciences would explain all sorts of phenomena thought to be magic. Even\nBridgett’s gifts or bizarre foes like the Pharaoh Ah-Men Toth would someday be\nexplained she was certain.
\nThen she felt it, someone was close by, following her. Her hands moved\ninstinctively to her guns. Closer, closer, she rolled around the corner aiming\nher colt revolvers up at… Botota?
\nThe tall black man stood there just as she remembered him when they said goodbye\nat the border of his hidden kingdom years ago. On his shaved head was the golden\ncirclet of kingship, his shield hung on one arm, his spear was clutched in\nanother, the scars from his battle with the black lion decorated his chest, a\nleopard skin hung on his back and a purple loincloth covered his vital parts.\n\"So my white queen, I see you have me at your mercy.\"
\n\"Botota? But how? Why?\" She holstered her guns and scrambled to her feet trying\nto contain her surprise.
\nHe dropped his spear and shield and took her in his strong arms. The bulge from\nhis loincloth reminding her he was still armed with a spear of another sort. \"It\nwas the wise man, he said you would need my help and gave me leave to join you\nhere.\"
\nLauren tried to regain some composure, making a half-hearted attempt to free\nherself from the African king’s arms. \"That, that is wonderful news King Botota,\nwonderful indeed. I know Bridgett and Running Deer will be quite happy to see\nyou again.\"
\nHe did not let go, Lauren did not try too hard to make him. \"Just them my white\nqueen?\"
\nShe blushed \"Well, I suppose I am a little happy to have another chance to see\nyou…\"
\n\"Just a little?\" he asked, holding her closer, smelling her desire.
\n\"maybe…\" she never finished the thought as his lips came down to cover hers. All\ncomposure left her as he tore open her shirt unleashing her magnificent breasts.\nHer gunbelt hit the floor, lubricated by her sweat (and other fluids) the boots\nand leather pants slid off easily. Botota had an easier time; he just moved over\nhis loincloth and entered her, pushing against the stone wall as Lauren cried\nout in uninhibited ecstasy. His spearmanship was excellent, forcing her to rise\nhigher and higher but never allowing her that final climax until she finally\nbegged for it, panting between breaths for release.
\nThey then lay for some time under his leopard skin cloak holding each other.
\nIt was past noon when they finally rose. \"My king\" she called him smiling, \"I\nwonder why my companions have not joined us.\"
\n\"Perhaps they sensed we wanted to be left alone.\"
\nShe smiled again. \"I only hope we haven’t scared them off.\" She reached for her\ndiscarded top and Botota reached behind her helping her tie the torn shirt under\nher breasts, his hands lightly touching her nipples. Then after stroking her\nflat stomach, he reached lower, helping her put on her breeches, his strong\nhands brushing the inside of her thighs. Lady Crowe shuddered and lost her\nbreath. She turned her head to kiss her king. In less than a minute he had her\nbent over a stone wall crying out in rapture.
\nIt was almost nightfall when Crowe and Botota of them finally dressed and began\nto search for Running Deer and Bridgett. In the failing light they could not\nfind the two adventuresses but did find the staircase leading down. They walked\ncarefully down and followed the passageway as it sloped lower.
\n\"Remarkable\" Crowe observed \"this tunnel seems to be longer than I would have\nexpected, it seems we must be deep beneath the castle.\" Then she heard it, moans\nand cries of pain but also of pleasure. Familiar sounds she recognized. \"Let’s\ngo!\" she called to her companion breaking into a run. Her guns leapt into her\nhands as she arrived at the strong oak door at the end of the hallway. She\nkicked it down and rolled in with the same smooth motion only to be confronted\nwith a scene from the pits of hell.
\nHer two friends had been stripped bare, their beautiful bodies criss-crossed\nwith a web of cuts and welts. Their mouths were gagged, their necks and arms\nbound in wooden stocks and between their legs… between their legs, creatures\nthat could only be considered demons were thrusting into them with enthusiasm.\nBetween them stood some sort of gross impersonation of Crowe, cheering the\ndemons on while heaping vile insults on her two dearest friends. Above them\nhovered the obvious master, a tall red-robed creature, his face a hollow skull,\nhis bony fingers extending from the rich sleeves. And above him, amazingly, hung\nlarge golden tubes, each containing a beautiful woman. Lauren’s eyes locked on a\nsilver-haired woman in a knight’s armor. Next to her Lauren could see a great\nsilver sword hanging as well.
\nEven Lauren’s faith in natural science was tested in trying to explain this.
\nThe master called out to her \"Ah, the Lady Crowe I presume\" he said affecting a\nmocking bow. \"I am the Lord of this castle, the Wraith Lord, and I am so\ngrateful to receive noble company. I tire of entertaining commoners such as\nthese.\" His demons howled and thrust with more enthusiasm.
\n\"Release them!\" Crowe commanded firing her pistols into the demons (who looked\nback with mild irritation).
\n\"Your weapons are useless, ignorant girl. If you would spare your friends\nfurther pain, then remove your garments and submit yourself to me.\"
\nLauren considered for a second, looking at her friends’ violation. But she was a\nwoman of action who surrendered to no man. Dripping the pistols her hands found\nthe two throwing knives Bridgett had commissioned for her in Mexico, the silver\nknives blessed by a Catholic priest. Crowe had always considered their\nconstruction an example of superstition but was not disappointed when the\ndaggers struck the two demons making them cry out in pain and drop her friends.\nShe began to charge towards the Wraith Lord when two strong arms grabbed her,\npinning her own arms helplessly. Botota!
\n\"Surprise my white queen.\"
\nHis dark arms began to swell growing larger and thicker. The dark skin turned a\ndeep red, the man or creature holding her grew two feet and great bat wings\nextended from his back. The Incubus roared! The Succubus laughed! The demons\ntwitched a few times and died (ah well). The Wraith Lord grinned (though having\na skull for a head he didn’t have much choice).
\nAnd Lady Lauren Crowe, the fearless adventuress, finally screamed!
\nPrologue 3: 1942AD
\n\"Tell me again Panzer Frau, about your ‘master race’\" the Wraith Lord taunted\nthe struggling villainess. \"German, French, Russian, don’t you see they are all\nthe same? All of them are, after all, mortals. Hardly a match for the hellspawn\nI have here.\"
\n\"Schweinhund!\" the superpowered Nazi replied writhing in the clutches of one of\nthe Wraith Lord’s hulking demons.
\nThe invasion of the small Balkan nation of Vlaxia had not gone well. A full\ndivision of SS troops supported by tanks and the superbeing known as Panzer Frau\nhad moved into the seemingly defenseless mountainous state quickly securing the\nvillages and moving into a fortified castle overlooking it. The villagers had\ntold them about their superstitious legends but the Nazis had no regard for such\nprimitive beliefs.
\nThey should have. Their occupation had lasted just one night.
\nNow dozens of demons were walking around the castle courtyard chewing on the\ncorpses of Nazi storm troopers or smashing their abandoned tanks. A handful of\nterrified women (secretaries and other support staff) were driven by their whips\ninto the tunnels below. And their champion was in clutches of a monster, being\nscolded by a creature risen from a nightmare.
\n\"Did you think that Vlaxia was unguarded? Did your Fuehrer not believe the\nlegends? I assure you they are all true.\" With one icy claw he grabbed her\nleather corset and tore it loose showing off her ample breasts.
\n\"The story of the 99 virgins? True.\" He tore off her black leather mask freeing\nher long blond hair.
\n\"The banquet of blood? True.\" One talon neatly sliced open her leather pants\nfrom waist to knee.
\n\"The legion of Demon Wraiths? Quite true as you have seen.\" The demon clutching\nthe struggling girl licked her, his caustic spittle burning even her toughened\nskin. Exposed to the leering beasts she finally cringed, half-formed words\ncoming out of her mouth as fear settled in.
\n\"The Dungeons of Despair? Well, you’ll see soon enough won’t you?\"
\nPrologue 4: 1950AD
\n\"Tell me Red Star, are you the best that Comrade Stalin has to send?\" the Wraith\nLord asked the struggling Soviet heroine. \"A gymnast, and a couple of Spetsnaz?\nHardly a challenge for the mighty Wraith Lord. For one thousand years I have\nbeaten the greatest champions the world could send against me, why did Stalin\nbother with such a meager force?\"
\nRed Star, the Olympic champion gymnast bit her lip so that she would not speak\nor cry out. Desperately she tried to shut everything out; the sorcerer’s voice,\nthe feeling of rotting hands on her nude body, the feeling of a cold rifle\nbarrel in her pussy. The Wraith Lord had captured her with almost contemptuous\nease, killing her squad of special forces troops then raising them as zombies to\nserve him. She had tried to fight them with her hammer and razor sharp sickle\nbut it was to no avail, they’d overcome her in minutes, tearing off her costume\nand dragging her before the evil wizard. She’d wondered briefly why she had been\nspared but now as two of them held her down while a third violated her with his\nrifle barrel it was all too clear. She’d been kept alive to be tortured, as\nentertainment for the Wraith Lord’s sadistic tastes.
\nGood.
\nThe Wraith Lord soon grew bored and threw the naked gymnast into a pit where her\nskills were tested to their limits as she dodged fire from her former comrades.\nHe enjoyed watching her twist and contort to avoid harm. The snakes and\nscorpions added an extra threat to keep her moving and keep him entertained. He\nadmired her muscular but lithe body but the severe crew cut would have to go. He\nwould have to leave her alive a year or two so that her dark hair could reach a\nproper length.
\nThen the castle shook, even in the dungeons deep below stones fell and a deep\nrumble was felt. \"What!?\" the Wraith Lord cried out in surprise and outrage. The\nrumbling increased, falling stone flattening a zombie. In the pit below Red Star\nbegan to laugh. With a mystic gesture, the Wraith Lord levitated her out and\ndemanded: \"What is this? Speak to me while I can still restrain my anger!\"
\nThe young heroine was practically joyful as she looked at her captor. \"That,\nmighty Wraith Lord was the sound of Soviet engineers dropping ten thousand tons\nof mountainside on your castle! Fool! We were just the distraction, the real\nthreat was always Soviet planning and technology! As soon as the dust settles\none hundred cement trucks will arrive to seal this mound of rock forever. I hope\nyou enjoyed your show, it is the last one you will ever see!\"
\nShrieking the Wraith Lord dropped her back into the pit and turned to exit his\ndungeons but it was far too late. The stone had sealed him in and the cement was\nalready covering any cracks. He was trapped, doomed to spend eternity in these\ntunnels with no escape. This castle was ruined and there would be no sacrifices\nto restore his powers. The immortal necromancer would wither and die alone in\nthe darkness.
\nAnd so, for forty years each spring cement trucks arrived at that remote spot in\nthe Balkans pouring more cement on the growing pile there. The construction\nworkers did not know why they did this, the reasons were classified and, to tell\nthe truth, long lost in some dusty Kremlin vault. But they had their orders from\nhigher up and that was enough.
\nThings continued this way, until, in time, the communist government of Vlaxia\nfell and the orders stopped coming. And so the bizarre project was forgotten\nentirely for ten years…
\nPart 1: Nova Star
\nIt was the summer of 2002 and the Global Protectors were assembling to meet\ntheir newest member, Star.
\n\"Finally. What was the holdup again?\"
\n\"An American? That should be interesting.\"
\n\"I hear there’s a lot of pressure to add a yank.\"
\n\"Heard anything about her origin?\"
\n\"Guess you me and aren’t the rookies anymore huh Shamrock?\"
\n\"I hope she’s nice.\"
\n\"Better not cut into my t-shirt sales.\"
\nThey quieted down as their leader Maple Leaf entered with the new heroine.\n\"Ladies\" she said addressing Tigress, Valkyrie, La Sola, Rising Sun, Shamrock\nand Aussie Girl \"I know it took a few weeks…\" (because the damn girl could not\ndecide on a costume and kept trying to re-negotiate salary) \"…but we’re finally\nready. I’d like to introduce you all to Jenni (with an i) Westin, codename\nStar!\"
\nThe Global Protectors applauded politely as the shapely blond entered the room\nin her new costume. Like all Global Protectors she wore a tight leotard in the\ncolors of her nation’s flag, with matching elbow high gauntlets and knee-high\nstiletto-heeled boots that mirrored the flag’s colors. A blue mask concealed her\nface (the GP preferred to keep their real identities anonymous) but left her\nmane of blow-dried blond hair loose. The leotard was cut low in front and back\nshowing off her large round breasts (they were almost totally natural) and her\nround ass. The sides were cut high showing off her long tan legs and the spandex\ntightly hugged her curves clearly showing she was not wearing anything under the\nsuit.
\nShe gave her new teammates a winning smile and started to take a seat at the\nhead of the table. Maple Leaf smoothly intercepted her and showed her to her\nseat, at the end.
\nThe Global Protector’s Canadian leader continued the introduction. \"As you all\nknow Star is our first member from the United States, she is 23 years old, from\nGeorgia, she was, um, a teen beauty queen, and is now a cosmology student and\npart-time model. She’ll start her training today and then her official debut\nwill be a press conference next Thursday. Are there any questions for her?\"
\nThere was an awkward silence and some of the heroines cleared their throats.\nSome of them had been political leaders or scientists before they got their\npowers. A part-time model just did not impress them. Finally Tigress spoke up.
\n\"So, Miss Westin, please tell us how you gained your powers.\"
\nStar smiled at the grouchy African girl (what was her problem?) and explained:\n\"Well you see me and my boyfriend Mike, he was a stock broker at Metro Bank, we\nwere at this club y’see, the Shake’n’bake downtown and I guess he’d had too much\nto drink or something cause the next thing I know he was swerving all over the\nroad and we hit this telephone pole. Then, the next thing I knew after that, he\nwas dead and I was waking up and that doctor guy was there telling me about how\nI had superpowers and stuff now. It was pretty cool.\"
\nThe room went completely silent for three long minutes.
\n\"So, um\" Aussie Girl finally asked \"that’s it?\"
\nWhen it worked, the process that gave the girls their powers had two unfortunate\nlimitations. First, it only worked on women. Second, it could only be used on\nsomeone who was near death. So far each girl had been injured as a result of\nsome heroic action. Dr. Boyd had been very careful only to select women of the\nhighest and most noble character for his process. Only the best could be trusted\nwith the awesome powers he could bestow.
\nSeeing the problem, Maple Leaf jumped in \"Actually Star is being too modest,\nwe’re pretty sure that she grabbed the wheel from her boyfriend’s hands to avoid\nhitting a small child.\"
\n\"Oh right, I forgot that part.\"
\n\"Please remember it next time.\"
\nSilently Maple Leaf willed the rest of the group not to ask anything else.\nThey’d been under a lot of pressure to add an American member and this was the\nbest they’d found.
\nThankfully no one else asked anything and the meeting continued.
\n\"We have a request from Interpol to investigate some strange goings on in\nVlaxia, an former communist state in Eastern Europe. Apparently Villainy eXtreme\nis involved.\"
\nThe team sat up for that, they were all eager to get back at VX for the\nhumiliations they’d suffered last time.
\n\"I’ll lead the team, Shamrock, Valkyrie and Rising Sun will come with me. We’ll\nleave tomorrow morning at 10. Aussie Girl and La Sola cover things back here.\nTigress, you’ll be in charge of the base and take care of Star’s training\nregimen. That’s all, we’re dismissed.\"
\nTigress grabbed the American before she could slip out the door. \"Star, come\nwith me, we will start you with some simple combat robots and then work up to\nmore advanced opponents. Tomorrow we can start at 5 with your weight training\nand flight practice.\"
\n\"Five? In the AM? I don’t know about…\"
\n\"Computer training will follow, then at noon we’ll go to police headquarters to\nstart your forensics and police procedure lessons.\"
\n\"Say, um, Maple Leaf, honey, I was wondering, can’t I join y’all on that mission\nto where ever that is in Europe, I’m like, really eager to y’know, get started\nand stuff so maybe I can go with you instead?\"
\n\"Absolutely out of the question-\" Tigress began but Maple Leaf cut her off.
\n\"Now wait. If our new member really wants a trial by fire I think we should\naccommodate her. There’s time for training later and the experience of a real\nmission with the four of us is even more valuable.\"
\n\"Great! I’ll see you all tomorrow at noon!\"
\n\"Ten!\"
\n\"Right!\" she cried running out the door and taking off as soon as she was\noutside. Flying was still new to her but she loved every second of it. Super\npowers were just too cool. Training? Getting up at 5? Fuck that. I’m a superhero\nnow, I do what I want. And right now, I want to call up that guy from the TV\nstation and get this my career going!
\n\"She is a mistake.\" Tigress observed in Maple Leaf’s office.
\n\"Tell me about it.\" Maple Leaf said holding her head. \"But if we didn’t add an\nAmerican member soon the city was going to pull our lease, and the White House\nwas going to ‘re-examine’ our charter. Hopefully she’ll learn the ropes and get\nadjusted here. I mean she can’t be more of flake than La Sola or worse in a\nfight than Shamrock can she?\"
\n\"Then why bring her on a mission?\"
\n\"If she’s not going to work out we need to know now, we have her on a 2-year\ncontract but we can break it on grounds of competence. I’ll take her to Vlaxia\nand if she screws up we can bounce her before she debuts and tell the Americans\nwe tried.\"
\n\"This is a risk.\"
\n\"Well maybe but there’ll be four of us along and as far as I can tell this is\njust a couple of VX goons digging up a mountain in the Balkans. We’ll crack some\nheads and maybe get back in a day or two.\"
\n\"I still disagree.\"
\n\"Don’t worry, when we get back you can have her.\"
\nTen-thirty the next morning found Maple Leaf, Shamrock, Valkyrie, Rising Sun and\nLa Sola (on monitor duty) waiting around the Gaia building for their newest\nmember. \"Ten more minutes\" ML fumed, \"ten more minutes and we’re out of here.\nValkyrie, any sign of her communicator?\" The Swede shook her head and returned\nto her computer. \"Fuck it then. Guys we’re getting in the plane and taking off.\nLa Sola tell Tigress she’s missing, check out the apartment and-.\"
\n\"You don’t think something happened to her?\" Shamrock asked concerned. \"Maybe we\nshould all-\"
\n\"No, no I don’t think so Shamrock I’m sure she’s okay. Probably just overslept…\"
\nThat’s when the intruder alarm went off.
\nPowerful electro-cannons slid out of hidden silos covering the intruding vehicle\nas a recorded announcement ordered it stop. In seconds the five heroines were in\nthe air heading for the truck. The Wolfe International News truck, Maple Leaf\nnoted with dismay. Two reporters jumped out, one with a camera the other\nannouncing \"exclusive coverage as the Global Protectors attack the news media!\"\nMaple Leaf felt a severe headache coming on.
\nThat was about when Star finally arrived, flying down to join them.
\n\"Oh I’m sorry, I just forgot to tell you guys, this is Buckley, I invited him\nover to cover my first day as a superhero and I figured you wouldn’t mind.\"
\n\"Unless you have something to hide!\" the reporter threw in.
\n\"Mind?\" Maple Leaf covered quickly \"of course not Star, we’re always happy to\nwelcome the media here, it’s just that he wasn’t on our guest list and\naccidentally triggered our alarms. But that’s over now, so how can I help you\nmister…?\"
\n\"Wolfe, J. Buckley Wolfe Junior.\"
\n\"Your father-\"
\n\"Owns the network, that’s right lady, so you’d better be damn polite capish?\"
\n\"Why Mister Wolfe, what a thing to say to my leader, I’ll have you know Miss\nMaple Leaf is always a lady.\"
\nMatters were soon sorted out and Global Protectors (plus Mr. Wolfe and his\ncameraman Clyde) were on their way aboard the Globe Hopper, their custom VTOL\njet.
\n\"If you ever pull shit like this again…\" Maple Leaf hissed at her newest member.
\n\"I’m so sorry sugar, but I just figured that after those terrible pictures of\ny’all and VX, you remember the ones from the shopping mall-\"
\n\"The mind control helmet.\"
\n\"Why yes, I do think that was the one, I remember all those terrible pictures in\nthe tabloids, and that video they were selling on the internet, well I just\nthought that after that it might be good to have some friendly coverage of me\nkicking some VX ass, y’know something to kind of give the team a fresh start.\"
\nMaple Leaf grit her teeth. Apparently this blond bimbo was smarter than she\nseemed. Of course she would have to be wouldn’t she?
\n\"Now if you don’t mind I do have an interview to start.\"
\nStar walked past her leader and took a seat in front of J. Buckley Wolfe Junior\nto begin her first interview as a superheroine. Grumbling, Maple Leaf took a\nseat next to her, to see what control she could still muster. \"Hope you don’t\nmind if I sit in.\"
\n\"OK toots, I guess, but I want you to know, I’m not pulling any punches, and\nwe’re getting exclusive rights to this story, got it?\"
\n\"Of course Mr. Wolfe.\"
\n\"Now then Star, you’re the only American on this team of foreigners, some of\nwhom barely speak English, do you feel you’re being groomed for a leadership\nposition?\"
\nMaple Leaf groaned and tried to hold her tongue.
\nAcross the plane Valkyrie was trying to focus on her language studies. She\ndidn’t really have time to learn the entire Vlaxian language during the six-hour\nflight but she planned to learn the basic grammar and a few hundred words to get\nby. It was a typical Balkan language but with a strong Latin influence on the\nvocabulary. Funny, even after two thousand years the Roman Empire’s touch could\nstill be felt linguistically. It was very interesting (to her).
\nStill she could not help but ease drop on the interview and enjoy some measure\nof satisfaction at her publicity-hungry leader’s predicament. But when she heard\nWolfe asking if the Global Protectors were part of a plot to overthrow the US\ngovernment and replace it with the New World Order, Valkyrie decided to act.
\nHer third Ph.D. was in psychology and she put the knowledge to good use from\ntime to time.
\nShe sent a quick text message to Rising Sun who was sitting across from her\nreading Telecommunication Miniaturization and Design Quarterly while sketching\ndesigns on her PDA screen.
\nRising Sun read the message and quickly replied:
\n\n\n\n\nVal-chan are you serious?
\n
\n\n\n\nVery serious. If someone doesn’t distract him soon he’s going to shred our\nwhole group on TV.
\n
\n\n\n\nBut it’s so, yuk. Should I put on a pleated skirt and sailor suit too?
\n
\n\n\n\nOnly if you have time J Seriously, you don’t have to sleep with him (I think\nStar already took care of that) just keep him occupied. I’ve seen how he\nlooks at you, give him a bit of attention and he’ll forget all about\nwhatever paranoid fantasy he’s trying to pin on us.
\n
\n\n\n\nAnd replace it with a sexual one. Yuk again. If I do this, I want you to\npromise you’ll work with me in the lab on that ‘panic button’ system I was\ntelling you about as soon as we get back. No excuses.
\n
\n\n\n\nDeal. Just remember what I said about your hips, and the accent.
\n
With a heavy sigh Rising Sun closed her journal and got up to the cabin’s bar.\nPouring a glass of whiskey and a club soda for herself she headed back towards\nthe interview/inquisition.
\nOne of her unofficial duties for the GP was entertaining their Asian donors.\nThis usually involved wearing a short dress, speaking in a ridiculously high\nvoice and flattering them shamelessly. She never had to do anything with them,\nother than pour a few drinks and laugh at a few jokes, but it had gotten the\nteam millions in funds. Rising Sun hated it, she’d much rather read a technical\njournal or work on a project, but she had to admit she was good at it. She’d\nnever done her act for an American, but for the good of the team…
\n\"So Maple Leaf you deny your group had a hand in the death of Vince Foster,\nduring the Clinton Admini…\"
\nSwaying her hips a bit more than necessary, Rising Sun caught Wolfe’s attention\nright away. The slim Japanese girl gave him the glass of whiskey and sat down\nnext to him.
\nShe tried to remember what her English had been like when she was a schoolgirl.
\n\"Mista Wurufu, I hear you are a beri big American TV star, what is it rike to be\nsuch a big, big star?\" she licked her lips. Buckley Wolfe gulped, crossed his\nlegs to hide the bulge in his pants and forgot all about the Global\nProtectors-Whitewater connection.
\nAcross the room, Valkyrie winked at Maple Leaf and returned to her studies.
\nAt that moment in a tunnel under Vlaxia…
\n\"This is PS79 to base, looks like I’m finally through the rubble. Gotta hand it\nto the Soviets, when they build a wall they build it to last. Behind the wall I\ncan see some kind of stone corridor, looks like it goes down quite a way.\nNothing on IR or radar though. Quiet as a tomb.\"
\n\"I hear you Power Suit 79, hold your position and we’ll get an investigation\nteam down there in about twenty minutes.\"
\n\"I’ll be waiting.\"
\nRoberta took off her helmet and whipped out her medium length brown hair. She\nwore a Villainy eXtreme power suit; a black skintight garment with red boots,\ngauntlets and a high tech helmet. The outfit increased her strength by a factor\nof ten and offered other advantages like a force field, sensors, anti-gravity\nflight and energy blasts. It was one of the most advanced weapon systems in the\nworld but she’d spent the last few weeks using it as a glorified bulldozer\nclearing away tons of rubble to get at whatever the heck was supposed to be down\nthere. There were a half dozen power suit troops here plus dozens of scientists,\nengineers and foot soldiers. Whatever VX central thought was there, it was a big\ndeal.
\nShe sat down on a convenient bit of rubble and looked again down the corridor.\nRock, rock and more rock. Well rock and bit of mist rising from down there.\nRoberta picked up her helmet and muttered \"too bad no one thought to put a TV in\nyou, at least I’d have something to kill the time\". So she waited with nothing\nto do but watch that mist rise up towards her. Something about it was almost\nhypnotic, she felt sleepy just looking at the white cloud. Very sleepy.
\nShe was practically in a daze when she felt an icy hand close over her throat. A\nvoice whispered in her ear \"and what is this ‘tee vee’ I wonder? I suspect I\nhave much to learn from you girl, and I will enjoy making you teach me.\"
\nRoberta struggled but there was nothing there to hit. Her energy blasts passed\nright through the mist scorching the wall. Then she felt the icy fingers\nreaching through her field and through her suit between her legs, inserting\nthemselves in her. It was impossible! An RPG couldn’t penetrate the suit’s force\nfield! What the fuck was she fighting?
\nShe struggled for another minute to two before finally losing consciousness. The\ntendrils pulled her and her discarded helmet deeper into the castle, leaving no\ntrace she had ever been there.
","frontmatter":{"text":"The Global Protectors versus The Wraith Lord - Part 1","tags":["Global Protectors"],"date":"7/28/2026","part":"1"},"excerpt":"Lessee… The Global Protectors and the Wraith Lord are copyright Doctor Droid\n(www.superstories.net/droidzone), other characters and text are…","timeToRead":28,"fields":{"slug":"/stories/marcuslycus_theglobalprotectorsversusthewraithlord/part1/"},"author":{"authorName":"Marcus Lycus","authorEmail":"Marcus_Lycus@hotmail.com","authorSite":null},"series":{"seriesName":"The Global Protectors versus The Wraith Lord","parts":[{"fields":{"slug":"/stories/marcuslycus_theglobalprotectorsversusthewraithlord/part1/"},"frontmatter":{"part":"1"}},{"fields":{"slug":"/stories/marcuslycus_theglobalprotectorsversusthewraithlord/part2/"},"frontmatter":{"part":"2"}}]},"storyStats":{"visits":0},"summary":null,"similarStories":[]}},"pageContext":{"nextInSeries":{"series":"The Global Protectors versus The Wraith Lord","part":"2","favorite":null,"date":"7/28/2026","text":"The Global Protectors versus The Wraith Lord - Part 2","tags":["Global Protectors"],"published":null,"slug":"/stories/marcuslycus_theglobalprotectorsversusthewraithlord/part2/","templatePath":"./src/templates/stories-post.js"},"slug":"/stories/marcuslycus_theglobalprotectorsversusthewraithlord/part1/","templatePath":"./src/templates/stories-post.js"}},"staticQueryHashes":["4139622702","641652024","942210989"],"slicesMap":{}}