Love My Angel of Death 2

Posted on Thu Jun 15th, 2023 @ 3:19pm by Watch Leader Frederick Hollywood

Mission: Findelion Watch - Villains
Location: Orlando Florida
Timeline: Present

“If you reach for that Rosco that turns folks into dust I will make you go before Saint Peter looking like the Headless Horseman.” Lorde had no doubt Buckman would try and make good on that promise. The big problem was he had met the marshal in the future. According to the laws of time that Frederick tried to follow it meant that he couldn’t kill the old lawman.

Lorde raised his hands. “Hey you wont get any resistance from me Buckman.”

Buckman put him in cuffs and then he asked Mary to sit in the back of his brown Ford LTD. He tried to reassure Hollywood’s dinner companions. “Don’t worry I will be back shortly to give you the particulars in case you need to call someone.”

“Get in the Delta Mister Hollywood.” As Buckman walked around the car to get in the time traveling madman’s car, Lorde got a good look at him. He looked like he was in his late fifties. More of that silvery gray hair and far less wrinkles.

“Okay Mister Hollywood let’s go for a ride.” Buckman started to drive slowly through the massive parking lot. He opened the high tech briefcase beside him. He reached over the seat handing Lorde a manilla envelope. “Perhaps you have heard of the Superconducting Super Collider in Fort Worth, Texas?” Sure Lorde had heard of that failed project but before could say anything. “Well that is the cover story. It is in fact a top secret SHIELD laboratory. It was designed to study time travel. So far it has become a bit of a failure as far as any way of going backwards or forwards in any reliable way.”

As they drove away from his charges Lorde started to look through the file Buckman had brought him. The first thing that stuck out was a transcription of a message that had been received by this “time lab.” It was someone trying to warn people that on an exact date and time, if Lorde wasn’t taken to a building, erected five years from now, that something catastrophic would happen to the world. Also indie the envelope was a cassette. Buckman piped up, “Oh yea you might want to hear that it is a little haunting.”

Lorde handed the old lawman the tap and almost without hesitation he slid it into the car's tape deck. The time traveler couldn’t help but think, how many times had he really met this guy. How far back did they go? After all, even his car was acting like this old man was a friend.

Suddenly Buckman tapped the dash of the car. “1988, 200 South Orange, Orlando, Florida, and step on it, buddy.” Then the Delta 88 lunged and they were being transported through time and space. The car came to a stop in front of the massive thirty five story building. The SunTrust Center was the tallest building in Orlando in 1988. Luckily the Delta had chosen a time of night without much foot traffic.

Buckman unlocked Lorde’s cuffs then checked his gun. Frederick still couldn’t get over the size of that thing and wondered when or where he picked it up. “Are you coming in?” He was a little worried about temporal continuity at this point. After all, he had met the marshal in the future. “Hey, you are my prisoner. Also whatever this is, threatens the world, not just you or me.” Lorde couldn’t argue that point.

They stepped out of the car like two cowboys ready for a shoot out. They walked to the doors of the office building and Lorde put his hand on the handle of the bank door. “Are you a betting man Marshal?”

Frederick smiled as he opened the door. Figuring if someone wanted them there the door was quite possibly open.

“Nice trick.” Buckman said in a kind of gruff way.

Frederick nodded. “Yes, but not a trick of mine. I think you can thank our host.”

Suddenly the lights shut off and it seemed like the lights in the whole town had blacked out.

There was some strange eerie blue glow that let the two men see but barely.

Fred looked out the glass door and could see the Delta was still there but it looked like it had been there for years. Many of the nearby buildings looked like an apocalypse had happened. Windows had been busted and the streets were filled with debris. Frederick suddenly felt his heart sink. He knew this story well after all he had written it.

The men could hear the sounds of something grinding. Like metal dragging across stone. Buckman drew his weapon while Lorde stayed silent with a look on his face the marshal had never seen. He was afraid. Afraid for his life.

From someplace above them they could hear an angelic childlike voice. “Oh my Lorde, are you going to come play with me? My God, why would you forsake me?” The voice was drifting closer slowly.

“Do you know who that is, Hollywood?” Buckman started to get really nervous. Frederick had gone dark on him. Either whoever this was, meant something to him or the whole thing was something he felt there was no running away from.

Lorde did his best to collect himself. After all he had run from things like this his whole life. There was no reason to shut down now at the end. “I wish you had stayed in the car, Buckman. If I am right this is my angel of death and she has come for me.”

Marshal Buckman didn’t have many of those moments that made him feel like his jaw had just hit the floor but this was one of them. The question really was, would she be just looking for Hollywood or would she try and take both of them?

Suddenly the grinding sounded as though it was just above them. “Your sins will be washed clean my Lorde, I will take you to a place of rest.”

Buckman looked up at a rather long stairwell leading up from the lobby and he could see a tiny golden girl with a massive sword walking down the steps like a debutante.. He took aim. Buckman wasn’t prepared to go down without a fight. His hand cannon began to glow and the barrel became bigger somehow. “Here we go Hollywood. Here’s your blasted grim reaper” Something about that Lovecraft sword of her’s gave him the willies.

With a very somber look on his face Lorde put his hand on top of the Marshal's. “That’s my wife Buckman. If you want to live through the next few moments, you will put your gun down. Otherwise if she feels threatened I am almost sure she will try and make an example out of you.”

Buckman put his gun down. He didn’t like it. Worse yet he worried that meant she was going to hurt someone in his charge.

The small golden skinned woman walked down the long flight of steps slowly with the grace of a ballerina. She dragged behind her a huge bone sword. It cut into the steps leaving a six inch groove in her wake. “Oh Lorde, why don’t you say anything? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

Truth be told there was almost no way to be sure of what he was looking at. Lorde knew that if this was some kind of sick reenactment of the way that he would collect people in the past then science and magic may be useless. He looked at his wrist and his communicator was dead. Also his glasses hadn’t picked up anything strange about Aryel at all. Course they didn’t seem to be working on Buckman either. He should at least come up as a mutant. So no magic either. There was one thing about him someone looking to do this to him may not have thought about, Aryel might not even know.

Lorde touched his forehead and allowed his Zanjin Eye to open. Giving him sight beyond sight. Suddenly he could see her in a way he had never seen before but instantly knew it was his one true love. It was like staring into the sun or for him like looking through the pearly gates. Her aura was huge. It seemed to spread through the entire lobby. He could only wonder if it was because of who she was on Tera or if she had changed here like he did. The only thing that comforted him was the fact that after all this time he knew that life was not a dream.

As soon as Aryel got close enough she pointed her oversized sword right at Frederick’s heart. Her eyes filled with determination. “Are you ready to leave my love?”

Lorde using the eye quickly pinched the blade, almost touching his chest. Trying to make sure not to grab too quickly but grasp with all his might. He smiled at her remembering all of their adventures. “Of course, but aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?”

Both Aryel and Buckman looked at him confused for a moment.
“Hey, hey, I did come up with this idea right? So you're supposed to give me a chance to go with you freely. Right?” He raised an eyebrow and tapped his index finger on the blade.

Buckman looked back at the winged woman. “Is he right?”

Aryel looked at him quickly then back to Lorde. “They said you would not come with me, that you care too much for these insects to rejoin me.”

“Who knows me better than you? I would never, and have never, abandoned you. Even in your darkest hour. If you can give me just a moment. I will be ready to leave.” Lorde let go of the blade. He knew what it was for. Still he feared it and what it could do.

She didn’t drop her sword but she did nod. “Go ahead.”

The old time traveler stepped over to Marshal Buckman and whispered in his ear.

“Are you sure? I mean there has to be something we can do.” The Marshal didn’t like where this was going.

“Just let anyone else know who asks that I found my wife and I couldn’t leave her.” The Lorde faced Aryel once again. He reached out his hand. Not knowing if this would be his last moment he decided to live it well. “We said forever and always.”

Aryel smiled and took his outstretched hand and in an instant Buckman was standing there alone.

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Present Day

At the Head Mistress’s office Drake Academy a phone rings insistently.

“Hello, my name is United States Marshal Buckman. I have news about Frederick Hollywood.”

TBC