In that case, welcome to the Zodiac Warriors.
Say what? Before he could even start to process the inanity of his final thoughts, a bright flash of light enveloped him and dragged him into a cold, dark place.
CHAPTER 2
A good thingAries attended the hockey game armed. Then again, he never stepped foot outside of Tower without some kind of weapon. Although, he could have used a bigger gun, maybe some grenades, definitely some backup. While he usually didn’t like to criticize his wife, he didn’t understand why Sage didn’t have him gather all the warriors to counter the aliens that poured from underneath the arena. The loss of life proved staggering.
Aries had done his best to kill and provide cover for the fleeing spectators; however, he could only do so much. It didn’t help that each time he took one down, more appeared to take their place. As if their brute strength, claws, and unhinged jaws—to better bite—weren’t enough, some of the creatures wielded weapons. Weapons unlike anything he’d ever seen, making them likely aliens because no monster on Earth, past or present, ever used an energy cannon.
A good thing he’d worn his star bracers. They deflected the beam aimed at him, but geezus did it get hot. His arm might need some Stardust paste because that would hurt later.
Another surprise? It would appear the aliens weren’t the real reason he’d been told to attend the Stanley Cup.
A new Libra is about to join us.At least they didn’t have to wait long.
Only seconds from him putting the dying man out of his misery, a slight glow encased the guy before he disappeared. Off to the tower where his new life would begin. And not a moment too soon.
A glance around the arena showed it mostly empty of people, those who could having fled, leaving behind the wounded, who wailed. Easy pickings for the aliens who kept pouring out of the hole in the ice. One warrior, no matter how skilled, couldn’t prevail against those kinds of numbers. Time to retreat.
Aries called upon his constellation to beam him home. He appeared in the portal room and immediately headed for the scale-inscribed dais that held the body of the man from the arena, still fully geared. A brave fucker. Aries had to admit to being impressed at how he’d used his skates to fight. Clever.
He crouched and began stripping the guy of his jersey embroidered with the number sixteen and last name of Warren. Removing the helmet showed a fellow with salt-and-pepper hair, not a young guy, which Aries appreciated. A seasoned fellow would be less likely to lament about this lost youth. Warriors who’d experienced life tended to transition better than those who never really got a chance, like the previous Libra.
Skates came off next, and as he put all those items aside, he spoke aloud to Tower. “Have these sent to the lab. I want the fluid and tissues on the blades analyzed.” Because, unlike their most recent alien threat, what they’d fought weren’t microscopic robots but flesh and blood. Were they related? He couldn’t help remembering the report Aquarius compiled that showed the impact spots of meteors, AKA the remains of the shattered extraterrestrial spaceship masquerading as an asteroid.
It seemed too much of a coincidence that Lake Ontario had gotten hit by one of the largest chunks, and now, a few weekslater, alien creatures boiled from the Earth. Okay, maybe not the Earth. After all, the arena had basement levels, but still, they’d obviously been underground and decided to pop out for a murderous hello. Was Toronto the only city that would see them, or should he be worried the other meteor-landing zones would spit some out, too? After all, hadn’t the rest of the warriors been sent to deal with issues near those locations? Could these aliens be what killed the local residents?
Hockey socks, pants, jersey, then chest guard, arm guards, and more got removed next, revealing a body in peak shape. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about their new recruit being able to keep up.
While the Astraeus had imbued the new Libra with power, and in the process made him more durable, it didn’t heal. Aries heaved the man over his shoulder and toted him next door to the Stardust Room, the Zodiac Warriors’ version of an infirmary. He shook the collected powder over the guy, coating the wounds, of which there were many. Tough bastard. Most would have died from shock alone.
As he stood back from the table, Sage entered. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. But a little more warning would have been nice. I could have used better weapons against the monsters that emerged from the ice.”
“What monsters?” She frowned. “My vision didn’t show a fight.”
“No, but it did have a warning about blood and death,” he reminded.
“I assumed some kind of natural calamity. You’re saying there were monsters?”
“Yeah, lots of them. I did my best but couldn’t stop the slaughter.” He couldn’t help but sound bitter as he barked, “I should have brought backup.”
“Had you pulled warriors from elsewhere, then those locations would have suffered.” Her eyes took on a faraway cast. “Nothing could have prevented what happened.”
“Wait, you’re saying these creatures attacked elsewhere?”
Her lips pursed. “I see no creatures, merely the terrible aftermath. I’m sorry. If I’d have known?—”
“You’d have never let me go,” his wry reply. He glanced at the prone body on the bed. “At least I managed to rescue our newest Libra.”
“That man wasn’t who I saw being picked in my vision,” she murmured.
“What?” The claim had him exclaiming and turning to her in shock.
“In my vision, a security guard gave his life heroically and joined our ranks.”
“Guess the Astraeus changed its mind on who it wanted.”
