Stormy Knight Errant

Fan Fiction by
Anthony Harte


Lightning blasted the war walls and the dawdling thunder rolled after causing the tall buildings of Kings Row to shudder and groan. The energy field of the war wall showered dozens of sparks and orbs into the air giving the impression it was raining will of the wisps instead of water. The latter began falling harder and another heavenly bolt careened into Paragon City itself striking a building in Kings Row. Occam’s Razar crouched on the edge of the building truly ecstatic with the display of nature. Next to him, his Hero Corps uniform with cape lay bundled together. His employment with the mercenary hero organization had been terminated, but the dreary rain was by no means a reflection of his mood.

The half-dragon’s gaze drifted upwards with a childlike gleeful smile and the sparkle in his eyes reflected the frenzied illumination of the stormy night. It had been too long since he enjoyed the beauty of nature, although his memories told him it had only been a couple of months. Eons had passed during his frozen death changing much for humans, but Earth herself remained steadfast. Even being a drake would not grant him long enough life to see her change.

Razar glanced down from an eight-story building near Industrial Avenue. Tonight, the storm would drive those villain and evildoers inside leaving the rooftops to him and his ancient thoughts. Humans were evolving and during this evolution, they were discovering their true potential. They began to experience what power they could posses and auspiciously many did take responsibility for that power. Many also choose the easier path, the path to pain, suffering, and ultimately to evil itself.

The humans were no longer the young race he knew. He remembered a time when they were just beginning to explore other levels of existence and still needed protection from the many pantheons desiring their worship and souls. Over the eons, the strong influence humans acquired corrupted those without the strong will to use it responsibly. Today they posed ever-greater threats to themselves and the population of Earth in general. Tonight a plethora of small metallic mindless automatons known as the Clockwork ignored the storm. Their master never let them rest and they did not need to. Their activity had brought Occam’s Razar to Kings Row tonight.

The drake paused from his reverie and the enjoyment of feeling nature soothing his body, and glanced through the downpour across the road into an abandon lot. The scavenger Clockwork were just beginning to emerge to continue their eternal scrounging of metal, whether it be scrap metal or someone’s parked car. Sometimes they did not differentiate between the two.

“Soon,” he thought himself.

Hero Corps had helped him escape the clutches of the tainted dealings of Crey Industries. The professor that found him, also with Crey’s help, frozen near the Arctic Circle had tasked the heroes for hire to extract him from their charge. Hero Corps sold their talents to the highest bidder. He was still learning how the economy worked in the new world and understood their reasoning. Regardless, personal power should be considered a gift to assist those in need and to help create a better world. He truly believed that. It was the way he was raised and the example sent by the most honorable dragons. Hero Corps ideals could not be indicative of where the human race was headed. Tonight was an experiment on the true nature of human destiny and a test of his resourcefulness.

Activity in the abandoned lot increased catching his attention. Sharp furrowed penetrating eyes peered through the blanket of rain and witnessed the gathering. Population levels of Clockwork had been falling in Atlas Park, Galaxy City, Skyway, Faultline, and even Boomtown. Razar knew the Clockwork King was up to something big. His new contact outside the University, led him to Kings Row and to this moment.

The ancient young drake stood up, his eight-foot plus form silhouetted temporarily from another flash of lightning in the clouds above. From below his whitish-yellow protruding diablo horns added to his menacing muscular physique. He stretched his lost limbs, now Crey robotic parts, and ignored the phantom pain plaguing him. His deep death sleep in ice had cost him his right arm at his shoulder and the left arm below the elbow. His strange robotic limbs granted him the restoration of his broken body, but they were not perfect. His arms felt permanently asleep. His fingertips had some feeling, but mostly he felt small pins poking where his real fingers used to be. He had phantom pains occasionally, like now. In some rare instances, the appendages seemed to belong to someone else. He also had to take a special drug for the rest of his life or his body would reject the artificial arms.

Commotion in the abandoned lot increased. Already he lost count of their numbers, never before had he seen so many. Now was the time. He flexed his metal hands remembering the feeling of his metacarpals and his lost natural claws. Three blades from the back of each metallic hand sprang out. These claws replaced the ones he lost and while he liked the addition, they just were not quite like his own natural ones.

Flexing his powerful legs, he silently leapt into the electric air and toward a high-tension electrical tower. Lightning streaked the sky above capturing the silent figure in a strobe effect fixating his image in the sky. The Clockwork were too involved into building their newest creation, the goliath Paladin to notice his approach.

He landed silently on the rain soaked lower platform leaving the mechanical patch-worked foes none the wiser. Their cogs, springs, gears, levers, pulleys, and various other items of their construction were easily viewed from his location. The half-breed estimated their numbers at a few dozen.

“I can handle these,” he thought debating his next action. He fidgeted at the hint of future battle. He intended to prove a point to himself tonight regarding the misguided Hero Corps, but he could easily handle this current menace. Clockwork were no the most durable of creations. He grinned revealing small fangs and closed his eyes, focusing his thoughts to tune his reflexes and summon his chi.

Occam’s Razar launched his huge form at the metallic puppets at the same instant lightning struck the tower. He sliced into the puppets before the thunder could catch him and a third of the Clockwork minions lay in pieces when it finally did. They did not even realize they were under attack until he made it to the scaffolding cradling Paladin. Razar was able to cut two support legs when the call for reinforcements went out. The Clockwork present retaliated. Those closest to the half-breed tried pummeling him with their fists, but only hit empty air. Those farther back, fired their electrical bolts; each bolt was similar to the lightning above just not as powerful. Razar felt their blasts of energy, but it was minor and easily ignored.

Tesla and Cannon Knights, the lieutenants of Clockwork, darted from murky shadows and fired their tesla cages trying to subdue the young drake, but he was a practiced brawler and shrugged of their effects. Razar had dove into the scaffolding knocking it down into a large growing puddle and began shredding Paladin’s partially built legs.

Then reinforcements arrived.

Suddenly, Razar found himself swarmed by the scrapped minions. They crawled over him like insects and some even tried to scavenge his robotic arms. He spun in a circle and swiped at the ones near and on him. Their pieces fell to pieces to the ground lost in the growing pools of water. The night sky opened forth with a thunderous downpour matching that of a waterfall. A whirling noise filled the air drowning out the sound and hundreds of Oscillators in various states of prototype filled the surrounding air.

Razar paused, awestruck. The young half-dragon had underestimated his enemy. His father, Grendel would have frowned. He could hear his grandmother proclaiming how human he was. Not only was the stormy sky blotted out, but also their presence above diminished the rain’s ferocity to a drizzle to those below. Looking around he realized he stood in a sea of Clockwork. Wave after wave surrounded him closing in on all sides. He was the sandy shore they would break upon. The half-dragon fell beneath the onslaught and cringed in pain when hundreds of electrical bolts struck him as a lightning rod. They poured over him like ants.

Occam’s Razar once again flexed his powerful muscular legs and jumped for the electrical tower. Those Cogs that held him fast fell off and he caught one of the wet steal beams with his right hand. With his left removed a special communicator he received from city hall. It had one frequency that acted like a hero broadcasting channel.

“Clockwork constructing Paladin near electrical tower by Industrial Avenue,” he said depressing the single red button. “I cannot defeat them without assistance.”

Razar leapt backed unto the lower platform and the various Oscillators were already maneuvering for a clear shot. Sprockets being the most common minion and in the greatest numbers scrambled up the towers legs. The drake tried dodging the incoming electrical blasts, but even with his super reflexes, there were too many. Cogs, Sprockets, and Oscillators surged over the fallen hero radiating blast after blast of electrical energy into his body. Razar tried to remain hopeful, but the pain was too great.

“Maybe the ideals of the Hero Corps were right.” He thought; hope dwindling through the young drake like water in a sieve. “Humans desired to be paid for their talents.” Razar gave into his fate. “Maybe humans did not need protection any more.” He then remembered the emergency transport system would probably save him. Paladin would be free to wreak havoc in Kings Row and he would be dishonored.

A green light traveled along the slippery rain soaked platform revitalizing the half-breed even though he lay under the kicking and punching automatons. The pain quickly subsided, and he felt rejuvenated. Razar braced himself, summoning his inner power of chi and sent shockwaves of energy hurling from the razor edges of his claws out and around him. This wide attack sent dozens of the animated villains around him flung to the four points of the compass. Free from the scrap pile he noticed his savior… no saviors. Heroes of all types poured in from locations unknown. He watched the light emanating from all their special abilities create a light show Nature herself would be jealous of. With the heroes blasting every animated gear that moved, Oscillators showered from the sky in more pieces than there wear drops of rain. Razar realized the storm was ending.

Razar nodded thanking the unnamed hero floating near him and dove right back into the heat of battle. Within minutes, more heroes arrived countering the growing army of Clockwork. It was not long before the heroes turned the tide of battle and cleared a path to the Paladin construct in the middle of the chaos. All that Paladin lacked was its head when every conceivable energy force in the known universe converged upon him making him a nexus. Occam’s Razar joined the assault using his claws to carve the remaining chunks of automaton into metal shavings.

With the last of the scaffolding down and no more standing Clockwork present, the heroes paused to survey the damage. Razar knew it would be large, but gears, sprockets, doorknobs, springs, and pieces of metallic sheeting had been strewn all over area like a heavy tin snowfall. It appeared a junkyard had exploded tossing debris everywhere. The Clockwork were defeated, but only for the time being. Some had escaped, so their numbers were sure to grow again, but at least Paragon City was safe from their scavenging for the short term.

A few heroes remained behind to assist special city cleaning crews, which had been dispatched to the area. Razar did then same, he was a drake and took responsibility for his actions. Tonight was a large victory that all present could wear like a badge of honor.

Occam’s Razar introduced himself to many of the heroes that helped. He had been isolated by his public image and never really had a chance to meet and intermingle with the true warriors of this present day Earth. He shook hands with Tropic whose poise and gaze reminded him so much of the dragons that had pledged their existence to protecting humanity. Tropic introduced him to Cadecus, the hero that healed him on the tower. There was the stunningly beautiful WillowWind, which he mistook for Athena at first glance.

He met PhoenixHawk, leader of the Onami Strike Force, Shadow Pain and Remedy Hart. The mysterious Voyager introduced himself before continuing with a mission of dire importance with another hero called Big Puerto Rico. He left with the drake’s gratitude. Another radiant beauty caught his eye introducing herself as Solanum. She had seemed familiar to him, but he could not place the face with the memory. If he finished making youngling mistakes like those that he did tonight maybe, he would live long enough to remember where he saw her. Two brothers Myth and Wraith gave salutations before they too left on an important mission against some arch villain.

The thunderstorm had moved on leaving a brilliantly orange and pink sunrise to welcome the clean up crew. Chilblain, another hero Occam’s Razar would come to remember convinced Onami Strike Force and Top Ten to pool their members and strike at the Clockwork King while his minions were diminished.

With a slight nuance, a voice echoed in the back of the half-dragon’s mind. He had not noticed at first, but with the clean up mostly completed, it was more evident. Someone was in great agony and he had to find and help her. Drake’s were not widely known for psychic abilities especially the son of Grendel, so someone was projecting their emotions to him. He jumped into the air to begin his next mission. He left behind his old uniform wrapped in its cape on top of the building. More importantly, he left behind those unique individuals who stood for honor, selflessness, justice, and courage. He left behind people worthy to be drakes and dragons, but more importantly, he left behind a City of Heroes.