| Issue #1 | Issue #2 | Issue #3 | Issue #4 | Issue #5 | Issue #6 | Issue #7 | Issue #8 | Issue #9 | Issue #10 | Issue #11 | Issue #12 | Issue #13 | Issue #14 | Issue #15 |

11

By Ed Ainsworth

 

"Okay Guys. I think I have it." Rip got to his feet and scratched his beard. He'd been outside of time for a while now, though it appeared the Yggdrasil had its own version of time, albeit a very slow version.

"Oh Yeah?" Mr. Cow said, looking up from the almost continuous licking of his own genitals. There was something very disquieting about the fact this Dog was always as intelligent as Rip, but spent all his time doing things like a Dog.

"Taking into consideration my.role in the scheme of things, and the Kid's powers, I've come up with a plan, at least something that I think will be able to fix things, for A-Man at least."

Kid Eternity looked up from examining the contents of his fingernails and actually looked interested for change. Removing his circle shades he asked

"Well? What do I have to do?"

"Okay." Rip started to pace, spacing his hands out evenly and moving a flat hand down at interspaced gaps, like he was slicing an invisible loaf of bread.

"This.Red.It's the life on the planet right? And it's become.damaged or disconnected or something."

"Right." Mr. Cow said. He'd given Rip a crash course in the history of the Red some time ago, but he wasn't sure that the Chrononaut was actually paying attention. Turns out he was.

"If we use Eternity's powers to install a link, a human in every era of the Earth's history, not just a human, but every step down the evolutionary ladder (I presume that you can do that Eternity, if you just REALLY think about it). Once they are there, I will place myself in the situation with Buddy, and we're all going to prick our fingers. The blood letting across millions of years should connect the Red, like sewing up an open wound, reconnecting the Red to this era, and specifically to Buddy by blood."

Mr. Cow's ears pricked up and looked at the little sprout who wished it was an Elemental.

"It Could.Work." Swamp Thing said finally, Rip's face hadn't changed from the hard stern look it had since he first appeared on the Yggdrasil.

"Right, Lets do it then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extrano's grip on Buddy's neck was tight, and he felt himself choking as his Adam's apple was displaced. His hands wrapped loosely around his wrist.

Tristess, one of the other Animal Masters, had been watching this from her position on the grass. She had appeared to have been over looked by the army, so she seized her opportunity.

A leap through the air, vaulting over Platinum, and delivering a flying kick to the back of Extrano's head, he lost his grip on Buddy and flew forwards into the ground.

Buddy hit the ground hard, his eyes blurring then refocusing on the grass in front of him. He saw Platinum, wrap her arm around Tristess's neck and throw her around in a wide arc, releasing her into the side of his house. A dreadful crunch was heard as Tristess exploded through the house. Without the Red powers she was just a normal, mortal human.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rita was laying on her back, blood leaking from her many, many wounds. She saw Tashana lying on the ground, unmoving as the energy from Jet and Harbinger charged into her, time and time again, Rex was desperately trying to escape from the huge tuber that had encompassed his gaseous form, preventing him from escaping or even landing another blow against Floro. The team was contained for the most part, and despite the headache Extrano now had, it appeared that he had won.

"At last." He said moving towards the Baby Anna.

"The World soul."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extrano and his New Guardians, who had just defeated Buddy's little group, turned around. The ground was shaking, as if something was running across it. Something huge.

On the Horizon, Extrano's spotted something, and his strained eyes widened. The Calvary was here for Animal Man, the Parliament of Clades had roused themselves. They finally mobilized and moved into action.

A huge wave, the work of Naiad, crested the hill, upon it surfed Tefé, on a disturbing surfboard made of Shade the Changing Man, Dolphin rode inside the waters of Naiad, her head occasionally surfacing, Whilst Firestorm and Red Tornado flew either side of the grouping.

"Buddy Baker, know that the Parliament of Clades is by your side!" Tefé shouted leaping off the Surfboard as the wave of Naiad crashed over the fencing drenching everyone inside the limits of Buddy's house.

She twisted through the air, twisting the flesh of her own arms into Bone blades, and driving them down, forcibly into two mutates attacking Elasti-Girl. They squealed and spurted blood onto the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Firestorm landed next to Buddy and put a hand on his forehead.

"We are here now, Buddy. We're here." Firestorm turned to Jet and Harbinger, nuclear energies exploding and sparking from its fingertips. It shot towards them, colliding with Jet's midsection, as Harbinger's head snapped backwards from a colossal blow from Shade, who was perhaps most qualified to fight her bizarre light-form body.

The Black Orchid, representative of the Green in this battle lowered herself down next to Tom Kalmaku gently, a soft cloud of pheromones wafting his way, however when he did not stop his actions she realized something was dreadfully wrong.

"Kalmaku isn't in his right min..UGH!" She hit the ground hard as Gloss' fist glanced against her jaw. Gloss wasn't herself either, but she was putting up a hell of a fight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naiad washed over RAM, surrounding the living-computer with her body, as air bubbles rushed from his mouth up to her "surface." Her face was a dreadful grimace of pleasure and hate, her form swirling faster and faster until RAM's body went limp. She lowered herself into the ground and allowed him to flop into the now soaked grass.

"It is over for you."

"What have you done?" The Red Tornado touched down next to the Puddle of Naiad, feeling for pulse on RAM.

"He is merely an android, like you, Tornado. Think nothing of it."

"We are MORE than MERELY ANDROIDS, NAIAD!" His anger was apparent. Despite all that they had gone through, particularly when they were both elevated into complete elementals and the pollution of man had destroyed their sanity, he had never killed willingly. Naiad was a different story.

"The Parliament of Waves will hear of this, Naiad."

"Speak your threats later, Tornado. This is no time for idle chatter." She seeped into the ground, firing bursts of geyser water from underneath to displace the Mutate troops.

"NO!" Extrano yelled, it was going wrong for him, so quickly, so desperately. He needed to do something to defend himself, but his troops were being destroyed on every front.

"Plantium, I need you too..Platinum?" He looked around for his Robotic lover, who was currently being compressed into a Platinum ball by Dolphin, rending her metallic body with her enhanced strength, and displacing every moment she made with a strong tug on a limb, until she was tied into her new life as a ball. Dolphin turned her attention to Extrano, but was distracted enough to miss the arrival of Floro to the battle, who struck her from behind with a tree.

She flew through the air and crashed into the ground a few feet away from Tefé. Tefé Holland, Daughter of Swamp Thing was an Avatar of the Red, but a warrior of the Green as well. Clasping her hand into a fist, she looked across at Floro, and willed his body and his connection to the Green to rebel and reach out.

Floro screamed as his body rebelled against his mind, slowly turning him into a plant elementals one true fear, or their one true release.

Floro had become a thinking tree.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Parliaments gather at the feet of Maya, the World soul. She lay motionless on her "island" at the centre of the Worlds memory. The Parliament of Stones, Waves, Flames, Green, Red, and Vapors, as well as the newly formed Parliaments of Spores, Instincts, Plagues and Clear, made up the island she lived upon, gave her the companionship she desires and the elements to coerce and nurture. These Parliaments were so very different to their avatars, the ones fighting the battle above, and they knew it. Many were reluctant to begin this, their final hour, particularly the Parliament of Instinct's, who's fear felt yelps and terrified urinations drenched Maya's own seat of creation with the scent of horror.

Maya was singing the end Song, her time was coming to a close. Since the Crisis and the Death of many versions of herself, the possibility ripples spread through the Core of the Earth, affecting her mind and her body. She had disconnected the Parliaments from their power sources, disconnected their Champions from their entire worlds. Elementals were now just more Meta-humans, but all that was to change. With the Birth of the new earth soul, the tone of a planet, spoken with a different voice, the natural world would be born once again. Everything would work again, and nature would return to its pride and precedence in the eyes of the world.

It was the dawn of a new old age.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Buddy!" Rip hunter appeared right next to Animal Man, nearly scaring the crap out of him. Buddy jerked in shock, as Hunter spoke softly.

"We don't have much time, Buddy. I'll save the explanation for later, for now, this will have to do."

Rip pricked his finger and brushed it across Buddy's forehead, the blood seeped into his skin. Rip's image jerked and jumped around before blinking out of existence with a tiny fleck of blood flying through the air onto Buddy's body.

Buddy Baker sat up sharply, his eyes turned dark red, and he began to convulse violently. Something was happening to the Red, and he could feel it. As if it was reconstituting itself, sewing itself back together reconnecting with Earth and with Buddy himself.

He could feel the energy inside him. The Avatars, the Genetic codes; the Parasites; the Animals; the Apes; the Birds; the Lizards. Everything was back to where it should be.

Buddy included.

As the Red energy tore through him, the ground underneath shattered, fragments of rocks jutting upwards, the grass bending and burning away underneath him, as he sunk lower and lower into the ground.

"Wha?" Extrano turned away from the Battle , to see Buddy Baker, seething with energies crawl from the hole. A smile was written across his broken features, a stream of blood dripping from his forehead, where Rip's own had entered his body.

"Extrano. We're going to end this now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"End this? I think not!" Extrano's crystal skull was held aloft, and for a moment, the world went Black with the dark energies being released from inside it.

The Body of RAM , Harbinger, and Jet were sucked into the Crystal Skull, boosting Extrano's power levels. His body bulked itself up, energy pouring from his eyes and his fingertips, bursts of power jutting into the ground.

"Okay, we need to round this up!" Tefé yelled, pointing towards Extrano, who simply thrust his hand out, an energy blast tearing through the ground towards Tefé, who leapt deftly out of the way.

"No." Buddy said softly, getting to his feet labouredly.

"Extrano caused the pain for my family, for my friends and for the Red. He wants to control Evolution, well now I'm going to give him a taste of the last 200 Million years."

Buddy cracked his knuckles and stared into Extrano's eyes.

"You've made me see Red now."

 

Next Issue: Buddy VS Extrano!