The education of Turbo
Starr
by Martin Tremblay
Dr. Jenkins looked at the man they had captured.
What a prize, the one and only, most famous, Turbo Starr. Upon entering
the alternate Orebanga, the captives had been brought into the central
yard, where they had all been crucified on wooden beams, planted in
the ground, reminding her of the old phrase: X marks the spot. None
of them were awake yet, and this was a good thing. Madness mages were
busy quantifying the amount of powers all the young recruits possessed,
and she was comparing the soul imprint of the leader of Apocalypse,
to insure a safe and secure transition. The Master had planned this
so carefully, nothing could go wrong, everything depended on that
transfer. A group of acolytes was busying itself by laying magic garlic
dust in the form of a pentacle around Turbo Starr's X. Lifting a radiography
of Turbo's chest to the light of a torch, she checked again where
the heart was, the all important heart. They had went to great lengths
to obtain it, it was a year old, but it served the purpose. When the
ceremony would take place, she couldn’t afford to miss the thrust.
"Scan him" She told a mage that was standing behind her. She needed
to know everything was right with him, needed to make sure there was
no anomaly that had developed since that last x-ray. The mage stepped
forward, concentrated, whispered a few words, and Turbo began to glow
a soft green. She looked at him, how unfortunate they couldn't get
their hands on Cavalier, this whole process wouldn't have been necessary.
But, the spell required a hero amongst hero, and Turbo Starr certainly
qualified, he would do quite nicely.
The mage completed the magic
scan on Turbo, turned around and came to stand in front of Jenkins.
"The radiography, I need it." He whispered. She handed it over. He
lifted it to the soft glowing green light of the crystal, shook his
head.
"What's wrong?" Jenkins asked tensely.
"The heart isn't on the
left of the chest, this man has it on the right. You were looking
at this x-ray the wrong way." He gave it back to her.
"His heart is
on the right?" Jenkins suddenly felt weak. What if she had stabbed
him during the ceremony not knowing this detail... Her master would've
had her stripped of powers, tortured to death and resurrected daily,
to undergo the same fate again and again, for centuries.
"Take a blood
sample, right away, and have it analysed. I want to be sure about
the power of the vessel, before we proceed." A whole year of preparations,
an entire lifetime of dedication was hanging by a thread here. If
the vessel didn't have enough power, all would be lost, and the coming
battle would be for nigh. She looked again at the x-ray, something
was bothering her, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Uuuughhh..."
Turbo was coming to his senses. She walked in front of his cross,
careful not to displace the pentacle of dust. He was bleeding less
from the nails that were holding him to the cross. Not one to take
chances, she had told the ghosts to lay magical bindings on him, to
hold him there.
"Wake up, Mr. Starr, your time has come." She taunted
him.
"Jenkins... I'm gonna tear you apart..." Turbo replied in a weak
voice, eyes closed, still very much fighting the limbo of the magic
powder she had used to subdue him.
"Now, now, now, Mr. Starr, that
is not a very heroic thing to say." She looked over at a Behemoth
Fire Lord, standing guard and awaiting her biding. She pointed at
him, then pointed at Turbo. The beast stepped forward, to come and
stand in front and to the left of the famous leader. She then motioned
for a life mage to approach.
"Make sure that he lives through this."
She told the magician.
"What are you up to, Jenkins?" Asked Turbo,
who had just finally opened his eyes. He looked around himself, saw
the future Knights, all nailed to similar crosses as him, saw the
city, filled with ghosts, beasts and acolytes. He knew he was in the
heart of evil, knew this was going to be a long day. Jenkins looked
at him, not answering at first.
"When my master learned that we had
captured you, he ordered that you should suffer for all the crimes
you have committed against the Circle. I don't need you alive and
"kicking", I just need you breathing for what is to come. Please,
feel free to scream as much as you want. I have preparations to make..."
She then turned around and vanished in a building.
The Behemoth laughed,
a deep rumbling guttural laugh. Turbo felt a hand grab him by the
hair. He looked at the beast in front of him, a fire sword had appeared
in its hands. The Fire Lord started to rub the blade sideways on his
legs, the searing heat burning his flesh on the surface. Turbo clenched
his teeth, while fear crept itself in his heart... Torture... The
life mage stood there, looking a them, awaiting the need for his powers
to sustain life in the famous leader. Turbo started to scream, the
Fire beast was brushing the fire blade all over his flesh, the smell
of burnt skin filled the area. Life force was infused into him, the
mage was doing his job, he would live, wouldn't be allowed to pass
out. Then, the monster used both of his hands, imbued with fire, and
pressed both thumbs on Turbo's eyes, burning them shut forever, melting
the skin, fusing them. Turbo screamed in agony, unable to do anything
but suffer. The beast laughed while it went on working on the famous
leader.
Jenkins was listening to the screams from her study, shivering
at the fate the famous leader was undergoing. During the following
hours, they would burn his eyes, tongue and ears, almost all of his
skin, break the bones in his legs, stab him, whip him, and pour salt
onto his open wounds. But, never would he be allowed to die, all that
suffering, that torture was executed with the utmost care as to not
touch any vital organs. The life mage would make sure Turbo Starr,
or whatever was left of him, when they would be done, would live long
enough for the ritual.
"Jenkins" Said the mage who had been sent to
analyse the blood sample.
"Does he have enough power for the transference?"
Asked the university professor.
"Yes, but... This man isn't Turbo
Starr." Answered the mage in a whisper.