[MV] The Super Wizard From Space #14: The Tragedy Of Sharkasaurus Rex, Part 4

[Wil Alambre]

"Master hero! Master hero!" cried out the young boy, frantic enough to 
ignore his disciplined training. "A terrible occurrence! The infinite 
school have lost their hold on their grisly teacher! The cosmic crown 
reacted suddenly and cut off their psychic leashes! Sharkasaurus Rex is 
loose!".

The young boy wildly rang the same small gong all the monks in this 
sacred placed carried. It shook Theodor's ghostly form, the echoes 
disturbing both his state of solidity and his state of mind. But 
thankfully Brody Dharma placed a palm on the boy's shaven head and the 
tall gecko's own highly-trained enlightenment seemed to help the young 
monk find his own calm centre. The wide eyed boy stood quiet a moment, 
then his breathing slowed down and his heartbeat climbed back down to 
normal. The boy looked up at his spiritual master apologetically, but 
Brody Dharma just rubbed the boys head in a fatherly way and sent him off.

The ghost fish felt a dour feeling of envy for the child before he 
drifted out onto the balcony of the mountain monastery, joining the 
gathered space-champions that were looking over the mist covered horizon 
of planet Amity. Only a few tall green peaks poked out of the perpetual 
fog, making for a mystical ancient feel to the already impressive view. 
The setting young sun cast brilliant colours everywhere, fading to a 
dark blue and a deep black the further up one looked.

But the normally enchanting stars were not alone in the night sky. There 
was a dark shadow, massive and long and fast, darting in widening 
circles. It was being chased by pinpricks of familiar colours, all 
bunched together and chasing the shape, leaving vapour trails of 
transparent hues behind. Theodor could feel the echoes of futility even 
all the way down here.

The Secret Living Language was the first to speak aloud, apparently less 
hypnotized by the amazing view than the others. "What has eventuated?"

"The infinite school could barely keep mental control over Rex before," 
explained Brody Dharma to the other space-champions. "When the cosmic 
crowns decided to enforce our tournament's rules with their own 
unknowable power, it blocked the ghost fish from affecting Rex. No 
outside interference, quite strictly it seems."

"Danger-Brody-Dharma-danger!" spit out Emperor-M from his speaker grill. 
"The-tournament-parameters-are-not-boolean-variable, end-statement. 
Outsiders-may-not-case-break-interrupt-but-there-is-nothing-preventing-the-function-defined-challengers-from-file-corrupting-others, 
end-statement, end-subroutine."

"M isz right," agreed the pretend-thing that spoke for the Monster Bees' 
queen. Theodor had to flip almost all the way around to see her lurking 
in the dark of the doorway, away from the proceedings in the open of the 
balcony. "You and your inviszible monksz may be able to protect your 
hive, but Amity's non-super inhabitantsz under the miszt will be chum in 
the water. The shzark muszt be put down."

"No! No!" said Geisel, Theodor's fellow rainbowfish. He swam 
submissively around the legs of the Super Wizard From Space, spectral 
eyes both empty and brimming at the same time. "Great Rex is sick! Great 
Rex is poisoned! In the brain!"

Theodor through Geisel, his phantasmal form passing through the red 
fishes more optimistic form. "Cold Rex. Cruel Rex. Too late for him."

"The crown! Take the crown! Great Rex will improve without the crown!" 
pleaded the red fish.

"Don't know that. Can't know that. Better the quick kill. How Rex would 
do it. How Rex would want it." demanded Theodor.

The black shape in the sky suddenly stopped. The coloured points looped 
around it, dragging out multi-chroma curves around it. Suddenly the 
points scattered and the dark shape grew bigger. And clearer. And it was 
diving straight down.

With a move faster than the others could follow, the Super Wizard From 
Space drew the ambient blue sunlight around him in a cocoon, held his 
arms up in front of him, and rocketed into the air directly at the 
diving shark.

Geisel floated still, watching. His bright pastel thoughts of optimism 
flowed easily through the others' grey feelings of awe and dread. But 
Theodor's own opinions matched the blue black hues of the wizard's; 
pessimistic at best. So he did a fat circle of the balcony before rising 
up, following the wizard's wake.

Moving upwards and upwards, the dark shadow started to take a more 
distinct shape. A ragged massive wall of teeth, rows upon rows, all of 
them vicious triangular shards of bone. A gaping horrendous mouth ready 
to scoop up anything shredded by the lines of daggers. A long sleek 
cigar shape the size of some starships, the smooth lines only broken by 
wicked dorsal fins jutting out from its back and sides. And cold round 
eyes, golden with cosmic power and filled with an insatiable hungry wanting.

The infinite school of phantasmal fish swarmed around the megalodon, 
sometimes stabbing right at in in huge numbers. But before they got too 
close to the ghost shark's powerful form, the laurel wreath floating on 
it's brow flared a sickly green light and ethereal chains appeared like 
a wall. Even the spectral shapes of the fish couldn't pass through the 
massive links, ricocheting wildly in all directions. Sharkasaurus Rex's 
cosmic crown was not allowing even his former students to interfere with 
the challenge.

Spreading his arms, the Super Wizard From Space spread out his cocoon 
like a bubble, solidifying it into a shield of stellar light. The 
brightness of it caught the megalodon's eye and with a sharp turn that 
defied it's size, Rex turned.

The great mouth opened. Fifty-five murderous rows of cleaver-like teeth 
slashed at the shield. The super wizard pushed the full strength of the 
shield against the bite.

The powerful jaw clamped down on it like it was a soap bubble. Points 
poked right through the wall. Starlight arcing wildly from the holes. 
The whole shape bulged as massive muscles crushed it.

The super wizard barely slipped out of the flattened bubble before it 
burst. Jagged white angles slammed against each other with a crash, mere 
feet from his arms.

A wave of one arm, a wide wave of white light was tossed against 
Sharkasaurus Rex's brow. It splashed with a burst before passing 
harmlessly through the spectral form.

The megalodon snapped wildly in the wizard's direction, the wave of 
white blindly refracting off his transparent eyes. Even Theodor's long 
dead eyes were momentarily useless.

But he watched in surprise as the super wizard dived under the gnashing 
snaps, skimmed under the belly of the beast and, in a particularly 
emptyish space, slipped inside the ghost shark's body. Once inside the 
middle of the ethereal beast, he reached out as if to grab the blue 
light of Amity's star and dragged it inside.

The setting blue star seemed to flicker a bit on the horizon, like it 
was considering falling behind the horizon prematurely, then flared up 
nearly half again as large. The peaceful pales and purples and greens of 
the sunset turned into a pushing wave of angry blue, heat and light and 
solar wind rushing over the surface of the planet in waves of pressure. 
And in all swirled to the pit of Sharkasaurus Rex, yanked within by the 
Super Wizard From Space.

The simple monster thrashed in spot, trying to bend enough to get it's 
crushing bite at it's out stomach, but even it's spectral shape didn't 
allow for it. It's transparent form seemed to fade under the constant 
furious movement and high contrast light. Sharkasaurus Rex seemed to 
become less and less real as the ball of star light inside him became 
tighter and harsher.

Just before the sun finally dipped down behind the misty ranges, the 
super wizard flung out the collected light with the flat of his palm. It 
slashed out in a plane, horizontally along the megalodon's body and 
sawed across both golden eyes.

Theodor heard the beast roar with a million years of fury, mountain 
peaks around collapsing from the monstrous sound. He watched Rex flinch 
into as tight as a ball as it could and retreated from the living world, 
becoming almost entirely intangible. Great Rex, humbled!

The laurel wreath however refused to be dragged away from material 
reality. The chains appeared again, but this time seemed to anchor the 
small object to the corners of the universe. Space bent slightly. As the 
beast became less real, the powerful wreath became exponentially more so.

But though Sharkasaurus Rex was near nonexistent, the Super Wizard From 
Space remained where he was. He grabbed the cosmic wreath with both 
hands and pulled.

The super wizard's own white crown blazed with gravity, a series of 
white chains wrapping around it and his own shoulders. The cosmic crowns 
resisted being separated from  their masters.

The super wizard gritted his teeth and let the fire of the blue star 
burn in his arms.

Both sets of chains snapped. He had the wreath.

Theodor called out to the Super Wizard From Space, getting the 
space-champion to quickly distance himself from Sharkasaurus Rex. Even 
without the wreath, the ghost shark was a hungry and dangerous monster. 
But the infinite school swarmed in and circled their teacher. As 
Sharkasaurus Rex returned to some solidity, a tidal wave of collected 
thoughts tied down the shark's hungry thoughts. Psychic leashes from 
millions of phantasmal fish restrained it's furious nature.

"Excellent wizard! Victorious wizard!" came the overjoyed imagination of 
Geisel, broadcast ahead of him in colourful emotions as he joined them 
in the upper atmosphere. "Thank you! You have his crown! You have won 
the challenge! You have humbled Rex!"

Theodor's kept his own emanations much more subdued. "Too much optimism. 
Too much hope. Rex is no better. Rex is no wiser."

"No! No! It was the cosmic crown! Too much for Rex! Too much for anyone!"

"Sad Rex," said Theodor, watching the school struggle to keep the shark 
pacified.

"No! Rex will improve! Rex will recover!"

Theodor was silent and doubtful.

"You will see!" said Geisel confidently, darting to the great megalodon. 
He swam around the wide body, past the great slicing fin, skimmed past 
the now empty brow, and to the front of the pointed snout. "Rex, free 
from his race! Rex, free from his blue planet! And now Rex, free from 
that hateful crown!

"You will see it! I see it! In his new eyes! Rex is free!"

Sharkasaurus Rex watched the red rainbow fish with wide black eyes, the 
golden power granted by the laurel wreath drained from them. Did Theodor 
see a new calmness in those terrible orbs? There did seem to be a quiet 
contemplation of the small spectral thing. A recognition.

But then it was gone again.

Before Theodor could think a warning, the beast's body quivered; it's 
opacity seemed to perfectly mirror the red fish's, like matching a 
frequency. And with a savage sharp movement, Sharkasaurus Rex bit Geisel 
in half.

His thousands of teeth tore through the tiny body.

And with a mighty shake of his head, the ragged remains were tossed into 
the air and dissolved into wispy nothingness.

.........................................

In retrospect, I should have done this *entire* arc from Theodor's 
perspective. Oh well.

Also, I'm putting arc titles on issues now. Just 'cause. :P

.........................................
Wil Alambre, follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wilalambre