By Leonard Pigg

The rain comes down hard as the “Catatumbo Lightning” phenomenon lights up the night sky. Captain Nemo and the Bride arrive on their sea chariot. As they sail down the river, the downpour begins to let up, as the lightning rages on. Nemo sees a platform floating on the water, which he points out to the Bride. She nods and they go towards it. She hops off and gestures for Captain Nemo to back off. He moves the chariot back a safe distance and watches. A smile goes across the Bride’s face as she reaches up towards the air and she draws tendrils of lightning down into her fingertips. Her entire body glows as the electrical energy traces across her body, empowering her. Nemo watches with a certain excitement, realizing just how powerful his ally was and how sexy she looked. “This is exactly what I needed!” she exclaims. Her muscles twitch and her eyes glow, for what seems like an eternity, she crackles with power. Suddenly, the energy begins to decrease and she sees another figure in the distance drawing it down, as well. On land, she notices a swirl of lightning converging down to a humanoid form. She stops pulling the lightning down and she still glows with power. She gestures toward land and Nemo nods, heading that way. She leaps from the platform, projecting electrical energy from her hands behind her to propel her across the water to land. The energy streams gets here there quicker than Nemo’s chariot.
Upon touching down, a few feet away she sees a mummified Prometheus that Doctor Frankenstein first created, lying on the ground. John Henry channels the energy toward the fallen Creature through his glowing hammer. Doctor Omega stands nearby with a hand-held device, taking energy readings as John bombards Prometheus. The energy hits and he convulses, but still not enough to be active. “It’s going to take another mega-dose of energy! We have to save him!” Omega says to John. As she approaches, she glares at Doctor Omega and John Henry with a look of menace. John stops charging Prometheus a moment and takes a defensive position. The Doctor looks at the Bride and says, “I am Doctor Omega and this is John Henry. We didn’t come here for a fight, but to simply save a life. I imagine you know this man, so please help us.” The Bride’s facial expression changes from anger to compassion and she decides to channel her own electricity into the mix. She fires the energy from her hands into Prometheus, just as John stars using lightning from his hammer. The resulting barrage causes Prometheus to give a primal scream, as his nano-bandages burst into flames. He finally springs to his feet. Moving swiftly, he charges past the Bride, the Doctor and John, knocking them away with his hands. He leaps into the air, directly into the lightning that swirled in the sky and he gives out a howl of joy. The night sky brightens Prometheus pulls the energy into his muscular form and lands in the water. John and the Bride, both dazed from the sudden attack, struggle to their feet. A dazed Doctor Omega says, “We did it…” then passes out.
Meanwhile, Calamity Jane and Koschei appear above the ocean a few feet near the distress signal. The duo sit in the cockpit of the ship, zeroing in on the sinking Iron Ace. “Short-range teleporter is activated. Locked on target,” Jane says calmly. Koschei smiles and says, “Engage.” The energy beam pierces the ocean depths and strikes Iron Ace and he disappears. A moment later, he appears on the lower deck of the ship and is greeted by the two. The dazed knight lies motionless a moment, then sits up. He takes his helmet off, hacking and coughing up water. Jane tips her cowboy hat and says, “Welcome aboard, honey. I’m Calamity Jane and this here’s Koschei. We got the distress signal and figured we’d lend a hand. I reckon we’re right on time, too.” Koschei helps Iron Ace to his feet, scanning him with a handheld device. “Vitals are a little erratic, I see. I do think you’ll live to fight another day. By the way, Doctor Omega sent us.” Koschei says. Iron Ace straightens up and says, “He’s back on Earth? I’m flattered you took the time to rescue me.” Koschei grins and says, “We have a time machine, so that’s never really a problem.” Jane says, “I reckon you probably need some time to regroup and repair the armor?” Iron Ace nods and follows the two through the ship to a workshop. Ace smiles as he sees all the technology aboard and says, “I think it might be time for an upgrade.” Koschei pats him on the shoulder and says, “Of course, dear boy. Afterwards, you might be able to find a way to pay our good Doctor back for sending us to rescue you.”
As Prometheus is submerged in the water, he recalls his last battle alongside Doctor Omega against the Cyborg-Men and his subsequent demise. His mind flashes back to his rebirth in Dr. Frankenstein’s lab. The first meeting between he and his would-be bride. In the aftermath of Frankenstein’s death, he lead a crew of biker zombies in England and their war with French Ghouls. All these memories come flooding back all at once and he bursts through the surface of the water, anew. His strong, muscular limbs propel him through the water to the shore. The scars and stitches in his patchwork body glow a bright red, in contrast to his yellowish hue. His every memory comes to the surface as he reaches the shore, only to be struck in the back by a bolt from Captain Nemo’s trident. “Never strike a lady, my friend. Especially, an Empress,” Nemo says coldly. The Bride looks at Nemo and says, “I know him. He’s confused.” Prometheus falls to the ground, grabbing the nearest boulder rooted down in the beach and slings it at Nemo. The Captain blasts the massive rock into pebbles with another blast from the trident. John Henry fires lightning from his hammer at Nemo, who fires energy to deflect it. The two beams hammer away at each other, causing a massive flash of light. Doctor Omega wakes up to the chaos and goes toward the Bride. “Mission accomplished. I appreciate the assist. Prometheus is alive, now call off your friend. I didn’t bring him back only to see him killed.” Omega says defiantly. “Call off yours.” The Bride retorts with a sneer.
Suddenly, the lightning begins to intensify. Gusts of wind begin to sweep across the beach. Nemo backs away in his chariot, as John Henry dives for cover. The Bride heads towards Nemo and the Doctor holds up his wand, scanning the area. “Temporal distortions are interacting with the storms, causing an increase in hostile weather. Koschei, where are you?” the Doctor says to himself. A series of lightning begins to dance around an area as a loud didgeridoo sound drones on and the Doctor’s ship (UFO) appears in the air, above the chaos. Suddenly the Doctor, John and Prometheus de-materialize from sight and reappear aboard the ship. Iron Ace, Calamity Jane and Koschei greet them when they arrive. “Sorry about the delay, old friend. We took a couple of days to upgrade Iron Ace’s armor and give him some recovery time. Our jump to this area was more difficult because of the increased energy activity in the environment. I’m afraid it took a toll on the ship’s power cells.” Koschei says to the Doctor. Omega pauses a moment and says, “I didn’t anticipate a battle with the Seven Emperors.” John replies, “There’s only two of them down there.” Iron Ace chimes in, “Not for long. They will come to aid their allies and probably bring an army. They’re the Six Emperors, actually. Not seven, Doctor.” Doctor Omega smiles and says, “History has been rewritten. I changed that for them in my previous incarnation. They wouldn’t recognize me in my current form and I had a different crew back then.” Prometheus puts a hand on Omega’s shoulder and says, “I remember when you were a little old man with the young companions and the robot. My how things have changed for us both. We are both vital and strong, like new men. I didn’t realize you changed history. I am glad to be alive again, my friend. However, the Emperors are relentless.” A moment later, the ship rocks from a sudden explosion. Everyone is knocked off balance by the attack. Koschei and the Doctor rush to the control room and look at the view screen.
Outside, Captain Nemo stands atop a submarine on the surface of the water. It is firing rockets at the ship as he fires energy from his trident, which is starting to damage the surface of the ship. Meanwhile, the Bride is hovering in the air. Lightning cascades off her body and she propels the energy toward the ship. The bolts strike the ship, sending a ripple through the UFO. “The shields are down!” Koschei yells, as he turns them back on. Omega starts to flip switches and levers, then looking at monitors. “If I can reverse the polarity of the shields, we can use it to power a temporal jump away from all this chaos!” the Doctor says to Koschei. Jane puts on the Anti-gravity Gauntlets and says, “No running this time, Doc. Open the damn ship and I’ll handle that Bride!” Iron Ace says, “I’m not keen on leaving this time, especially when these maniacs are still around. This is a chance to take out two of them! With my upgrades, I can do it!” Omega continues throwing switches ignoring Jane and Ace. “I know what I’m doing! Absorption rate is currently at forty percent! We are leaving!” Omega says frantically. Jane goes to the opposite side of the room, activating the teleport device. She and Iron Ace disappear. “No!” Omega yells, reaching for them as they fade from sight.
Jane suddenly appears in the air above the Bride. Her Anti-gravity Gauntlets surround her in a force field, outlining her body. She strikes downward hitting the Bride, who plummets from the air and crashes into the water. “Yee-hah!” Jane yells triumphantly. Meanwhile, Koschei reverses the tractor beam and uses it to push the submarine back under the water. Nemo sinks, along with the ship. Iron Ace fires down twin energy beams from his hands, which strike the water, turning it to ice and surrounding the submarine. As he toggles the controls to the ship, Doctor Omega says, “We’re at fifty percent! Jane and Ace are actually holding them off!” Prometheus looks over to the Doctor and says, “I’m going back out. A line must be drawn here.” Koschei hits the controls to teleport Prometheus down to the ice covered area. Omega grab Koschei by the collar and asks, “What the hell are you doing?!” Koschei smiles and says, “The same thing we do whenever we get involved: make history. The time for being passive is done. Iron Ace debriefed me on the menace of the Six Emperors.” Prometheus appears atop the ice coated area and is felled by an energy attack from Nemo’s trident. He falls to his knees, smoldering. With his trident raised and crackling with energy, Nemo swings down at Prometheus. Calamity Jane blocks the attack with her gauntlets, causing sparks to fly from them. Her force field blinks on and off, as her gauntlets are damaged. Nemo’s soldiers come out of the water in scuba gear, armed to the teeth and the fire at the Iron Ace to no avail. Iron Ace releases a charged net over the soldiers, shocking them. The Bride climbs from the water, firing another barrage of energy toward Jane. The electricity dances across her force field, as it struggles to maintain integrity. She screams out as the field goes down and her body is shocked. Iron Ace tackles the Bride, knocking her to the ground. He begins to choke her, as she generates electricity to retaliate. Her attack sends him flying back dazed and he is caught mid-air by Prometheus. The injured Jane gets back up with guns blazing, unloading her pistols at Nemo. Pelted with a hail of bullets, he drops the trident and falls back into the water.
Doctor Omega activates a portal which materializes on the ice. He and Koschei come charging out, both firing guns at the Bride. She erects an energy barrier to block the attack. “We’re getting out of here, now! We’ve a sufficient charge to get out of here!” John Henry steps through the portal, projecting a wall of flame toward the bullet-ridden Nemo and his soldiers as they attempt to return to the ice. Prometheus carries the unconscious Iron Ace and steps through. Jane limps through, followed by John. Omega and Koschei bring up the rear and rush through once everyone is safe. The group appear inside the ship, attempting to get their bearings. The enraged Bride screams, “I demand blood!” She unleashes a powerful stream of electricity through the portal. The resulting blast prevents it from closing, electrifying both Jane and Koschei. The beams continue, destroying part of the console. Omega uses his wand to reflect the beams back through, causing the portal to close outright and the ship disappears in a sonic boom and flash of light. Nemo and his soldiers regroup atop the artificial glacier. He scowls as he pulls bullets from the Kevlar vest beneath his coat. “Find my trident and let’s get out of here. Are you okay?” He asks the Bride who crackles with electrical energy. She turns and looks at him with a smile. “Peachy. I think I killed at least two of them and damaged their little ship. All in all, quite an adventure, eh?” The Bride turns off her electrical charge and gives the Captain a kiss. “How long before we would be back to the U.S. in the other ship your crew brought?” Bride asks with a wide smile. The Captain walks her to the ship, licks his lips and says, “We’ve got a few hours to kill, my dear Energizer Bunny.” The two enter the ship, which sinks into the ocean and they leave via the murky depths.