Return of Jetman Episode 11

RETURN OF JETMAN

"The Nexus Of The Crisis"
(Episode 11)
by Christopher Elam
(based on the work of Lewis Smith)
© 2003 Christopher Elam

 

Green Wyvern glided effortlessly through the sky. She closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated on the peacefulness around her. Flying had become one of her few remaining joys. It was hard to remember what it had been like before she could fly. Among the clouds, it was easy to pretend that everything was all right with the world. But of course, "pretending" was all it was.

Her life had certainly changed these last few months. Granted super powers by an alien emperor, she had clashed with the new Jetman team. Then she had allied herself with them after turning on her extraterrestrial master. And then, just weeks earlier, she had watched the man she loved sacrifice himself to save them all.

Green Wyvern swallowed hard. She still couldn't believe she was taking Gai's place in Jetman. He had been the only one besides Jet Phoenix who had accepted her. The others considered her an uneasy ally at best. Fitting in wasn't going to be easy. Still, she owed it to Gai. She had to honor his memory. Otherwise, there was really no point at all.

She shuddered as she recalled the day of his funeral. It had almost ended that day. Only Jetman's signal had prevented her from committing seppuku. In the back of her mind, she wondered if they would've regretted saving her if they knew the truth.

Green Wyvern shook her head. Suicide was not an honorable option anymore. She had to make the best of the situation and fight the good fight whether her teammates cared about her or not. For Gai's sake, if nothing else.

The rest of the team was returning to Skywatch that day. Green Wyvern turned around and headed back to the base. She wanted to be there waiting for them. But first, she would get a little more flying time in. She closed her eyes again as she rode the air currents to her destination.

***

Lord Xenotos sat in restless contemplation on his throne aboard the starship Helldevil. Toranza stood rigidly by his side, ready to answer his master's smallest request. However, Lord Xenotos was too busy to be bothered with dreaming up new humiliations for his would-be rebel agent. The time was right to launch a new offensive.

"Hedes!" Lord Xenotos barked into the communicator to his vizier's laboratory. "Report to me immediately!"

Hedes was bowing before the leader of the Chaos Coalition as soon as he could scurry to the throne room. "How may I serve you, my lord?"

"I wish to launch our new monster army plan," Lord Xenotos stated. "Are all the preparations made for the Chaos Myth Beasts?"

"Absolutely," Hedes reassured. "Each creature is based on an Earthly legend and each is at least as strong as our old Chaos Beasts. They should prove to be quite a test for Jetman!"

"I hope so," Lord Xenotos said as he rested his chin on his fists. "I grow weary of lying in wait for our plans to come to fruition. Another assault on the Earthlings may even take my mind off our failure to establish a base on that planet. Such an ingenious plan wasted. Don't you agree, Toranza?"

"Completely, my lord!" Toranza was compelled to say. Inside his mind, he was screaming something else. Miira had conspired with him against Lord Xenotos and then betrayed him when the plan had gone sour. He had also nearly lost his own life in the explosion that had killed Red Hawk. He was starting to think death would have been preferable to the fate Xenotos had arranged. His injured body had been rebuilt, but now he was totally under Xenotos' control. Free will was a thing of the past for him. He was just another lackey.

Toranza seethed as he bobbed his head vigorously in agreement. Someday, he would make Lord Xenotos pay for this affront.

"That's enough, Toranza," Lord Xenotos admonished. "Hedes and I have important work to do. Go stand in the corner."

Someday, Lord Xenotos. Someday.

***

Tiger Burai winced as Tiger Seven's fist flashed into his face. He staggered backward as his ally threw a chop into the side of his neck. Tiger Seven rared back and drove his elbows into the sides of Tiger Burai's head.

Tiger Burai felt his legs give out from under him. "Why?" he questioned plaintively from the cold factory floor. "Why?"

"I have my reasons," Tiger Seven said as he kicked his prone friend. "This is bigger than either of us!"

Ken Tendo peered over the manuscript. "This is what you were doing while we were gone?"

Gohan became self-conscious. "Why? You don't like it?"

"That's not it, man," Ken reassured as he tilted the conference table chair forward. "It's a great story. I just meant - well, I'm surprised you weren't spending some time with Reiko, too."

Gohan shuffled his feet "I thought about asking her. I really did. But then I said, 'Why don't you take some time by yourself and sort it out?' Y'know, to see how I really felt about it."

Tiger Burai could detect no feeling in Tiger Seven's voice. No emotion. Was he under a spell? Had his friendship been just a pose? Or was there something more?

Now wasn't the time to debate it. He rolled away from Tiger Seven and regained his footing. He struck a defensive stance. "Seven, don't make me fight you!" he begged.

"That's not your decision to make!" Tiger Seven shot back.

"And what did you decide?" Ken ventured.

Gohan got a faraway look in his eyes. "Wow. I, um, really missed her. The more I thought about it, the more I realized...wow."

Ken smirked a bit. "Cool. Have you told her yet?"

"No," Gohan admitted. "I've been trying to find the courage. Soon, I swear."

"Good for you," Ken congratulated. "You two will make it just like Etsuko and I did."

"Yeah, I noticed you two had patched things back up," Gohan said with a wink. "How did the vacation go?"

"Gohan, it went remarkably well. I'll tell you more lat...uh oh, company."

A shadowy figure entered the room and lit a cigarette. The flickering flame illuminated his steel skin and the blue opal embedded in his forehead. "I see you two are busy." he said as he stroked his long white beard.

"Valcus!" Tiger Burai exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Sometimes, even the CEO of Ordyne has to take a personal interest in matters," he stated coolly as he took a drag from his cigarette. "Especially when his two staunchest enemies are at each other's throats!"

"This has nothing to do with you!" Tiger Seven screamed to the sinister Valcus as he hurled his Tiger Staff at the leader of the Gear Empire.

Valcus caught the staff in mid-flight. "It has everything to do with me, my boy. This is my fight, too!"

Kei Mizuno wandered cautiously into the meeting room. Finding Ken and Gohan caught her off-guard. She jumped backward with a start when she saw them.

"Oh!" she gasped. "I was looking for Jet Phoenix. I didn't realize you guys would be in here."

"Is that a fact?" Ken commented. "Or are you feeling guilty for getting caught snooping around?"

Kei held her tongue, but felt a slow burn building thanks to Ken. He didn't like her and made no secret of it. Taking orders from him wasn't going to be easy.

Gohan gave a soft smack to his buddy. "C'mon Ken, there's no call for that. Kei, I think he went to his office that way."

"Thanks," Kei said as she went to exit. She stopped as if remembering something, then dug a hand into her jeans pocket. She walked up to Gohan as she fished an object out.

"Here, this is for you," Kei told Gohan as she handed a keychain to her fellow Jetman. "Gai told me how much you love sci-fi, so I picked this up for you on my last day at my old job."

"A Mazinger Z keychain!" Gohan enthused. "This is awesome! Thanks so much Kei!"

Kei Mizuno nodded an acknowledgment and headed for the door. As she did, she couldn't resist taking one last peek over her shoulder at Ken.

"Probably stole it..." he grumbled to himself.

What had been a duel became a three-way melee. Each fighter pounded his opponents in a desperate struggle to come out the victor. Tiger Burai, Tiger Seven, Valcus - all three taxed themselves to their limits. Finally, one won out over the other two.

"I don't know what prompted the split," Valcus gloated, "but that was the key to my ultimate triumph. Today is the day Gear Empire Ordyne begins its final conquest of Earth!

***

Reiko Hayasaka held her notebook tightly against her chest as her bookbag weighed her down. Why didn't Etsuko answer? She had been standing outside her door for what felt like ages. She had knocked four times and she knew Etsuko was in her room. What was going on?

OK, one more time and that was it. She was going to be late otherwise. Reiko rapped lightly on the door and was surprised to hear activity. About a minute later, Etsuko opened the door and rubbed her eyes.

"Oh...hi," Etsuko Oishi said slowly. "Sorry. I was...taking a nap."

Something about Etsuko's tone didn't sound quite right to Reiko. She hadn't really been taking a nap, had she? Still, Reiko reasoned it was none of her business if Etsuko didn't want to volunteer her problems.

"I hadn't had the chance to talk to you for awhile," Reiko said. "I just wanted to thank you for listening to me about Gohan. I finally made up my mind."

Etsuko seemed puzzled. "Hmm? I mean, what did you decide?"

"It's time to get my feelings out in the open," Reiko stated firmly. "You helped me see that."

"Well...that's great," Etsuko replied. "I'm glad I could help you out. Are you going somewhere?"

Reiko clutched her notebook. "Yeah," she answered with no further details. "I need to be going, actually. See you later."

"Bye."

Reiko shook her head after Etsuko closed the door. Her friend was sure acting weird. What had gone on with Etsuko and Ken the last two weeks? Reiko was so busy wondering as she stared at her shoes that she failed to notice Kei approaching. To make matters worse, Kei was in her own world, too.

Kei crashed into Reiko and they both tumbled to the floor. "I'm so sorry!" Kei apologized as she helped Reiko up. "I was just coming back from talking to Jet Phoenix. I just wasn't paying attention, that's all!"

"Calm down, it's all right," Reiko responded. "I was daydreaming, too. I guess I'm definitely going to be late for my appointment now."

"Appointment?"

"Yeah, umm," Reiko stammered a bit awkwardly. "Aw hell, let me just be honest. I've been going to counseling for a few months. I've had some stuff happen and I need help dealing with it. I try not to talk about it to the others."

"Counseling?" Kei questioned. "And has it...has it made a difference?"

Reiko scratched the side of her head. "I think so. I mean, I think I understand things better than when I started. It's not a quick fix or a guarantee. It's just a way to help you find your own answers."

Kei rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Reiko, I...think I'd like to know more about this. Can we talk when you have more time?"

Reiko's face brightened. "Sure! Here, let me give you a book to read."

Reiko dug through her bookbag and found a well-worn paperback. She placed it in Kei's hands. "Read this for awhile. You come see me when you're ready."

Reiko waved a hasty goodbye as she darted off to her meeting. Kei returned the wave as she examined the cover. MAKING PEACE WITH YOURSELF. Kei cracked the book open and began to read as she trudged down the hallway to her quarters.

***

Jet Phoenix stood in front of the world map on his office wall. He studied the distance from Tokyo to the Ogasawara Island chain. Having Skyforce salvage Dragon Wyvern for repairs was going to be a logistical nightmare. That hadn't stopped him from promising Kei it would be done.

She was uncomfortable and having doubts about being part of the team. Ken obviously wasn't going to help matters either. Jet Phoenix ran a finger along his visor. Ken might have been the best choice to lead the team with his brother's death, but he still had a lot to learn about being a leader.

Jet Phoenix returned to his desk. It had taken weeks for the team to jell and that was all lost with Gai gone. Now they had to move on and adjust to a new dynamic - with a new member who was reluctant to say the least.

Of course, that was nothing new for Jetman. How many times had he quit the original team? Three? Four?

Damn it. He had done it again. For years, he had accepted the fact that he was just an android based on a dead hero. Then, he had begun to spend more and more time with people who had associated with him - with Gai Yuki - back in the old Jetman days. And then there were all the memories the new team jogged for him. It had happened subtly, but he had changed. The line between Jet Phoenix, the android protector of Earth, and Gai Yuki, the fallen Jetman, had begun to blur. More and more, he was thinking as if he were Gai Yuki.

When he considered it logically, he rejected the idea. Yuki's brain in his head didn't make him Yuki. He had never actually experienced many of the memories that floated through his mind. That didn't make them any less real. The lingering feelings for Kaori Tendo had proven that adequately.

Jet Phoenix picked up the folder containing the latest report from Skyforce's Pacific base. He had to forget about these thoughts. He wasn't Gai Yuki. He wasn't even human. He was only a machine - a machine whose time was rapidly running out.

***

The alarm sounded at 6:37 P.M. that evening. The team scrambled into their Skyforce uniforms and quickly assembled in the conference room. Jet Phoenix was waiting for them.

"Fires at Tokyo Harbor," he reported. "There are reports of a monster sighting. Take the Jet Speeders over there."

Gohan pumped his fist. "Yessss! We get to use the motorcycles!"

Shortly afterward, the team navigated the streets of Tokyo with their five machine fleet of Jet Speeders. As they cruised along, Kei felt a gnawing doubt about their mission.

"Isn't it possible this is just a wild goose chase?" she radioed to the others through her crash helmet's radio. "Do we even know if there's really a monster?"

"Better safe than sorry," Ken responded from his position at the front of the pack. He left unspoken the suspicions that Kei's questions only magnified.

When they arrived at the scene, the team discovered several buildings on the docks engulfed in flames. Firefighters worked feverishly to contain the raging inferno. The swarm of Garo all over the place confirmed that the disaster was the work of Chaos. All they needed was to find the culprit.

"Cross Changer!" they shouted simultaneously as they activated their henshin bracelets. In a flash, they were clad in the uniforms of Chojin Sentai Jetman.

"Fan out!" Black Condor ordered. "Take out as many throwaround guys as you can while you search for the monster! The firefighters can handle the fires!"

A pair of Garo jumped Black Condor almost as soon as the words left his mouth. He grabbed one by the back of the neck and lifted him high into the air. Then he brought the hapless henchman down on his cohort. Black Condor used his Garo captive to club the other Garo into submission. When he was finished, Black Condor tossed his makeshift weapon into a crumpled heap on the ground.

"Condor Lance!" he exclaimed as he called forth his Jet Weapon. He hastily examined the battle as he charged into it. White Swan, Yellow Owl, Blue Swallow - they were all fighting off Garo and holding their own. Green Wyvern...

Where was Green Wyvern? He didn't see her anywhere. Black Condor didn't have time to dwell on the question, but he grew increasingly concerned as he swatted aside an attacking Garo.

Meanwhile, Green Wyvern had slipped away from the Garo. Their presence was a distraction ploy, as always. The real action was elsewhere. Green Wyvern stalked silently through the inky blackness between two buildings when she heard screams away from the Jetman/Garo fracas.

Green Wyvern raced to the source and discovered a hideous three-headed red monster. It held two firefighters helpless in the grasp of its serpentine tail as its lion head belched out fire. Its snake head and goat head levelled their gaze at her.

"I am Chaos Chimera, first of the Chaos Myth Beasts!" the snake head hissed in triumph. "And you are the Chaos traitor Green Wyvern!"

"Destroying you will be a pleasure! BAAAAAAA!" the goat head bleated.

Green Wyvern charged up her energy gloves and the power coursed through them. She prepared to unleash a massive blast at the monster before it could inflict any more damage. Then Chaos Chimera beat her to the punch.

"Want to take the chance?" the monster taunted as it whipped its tail in front of its body. The struggling captive firefighters had become his human shields.

Green Wyvern hesitated. She knew she could outwit this monster - monsters weren't noted for their brilliance. But after everything that had happened, she wasn't sure if she did want to take the chance. If the firefighters were hurt, it would be on her conscience. And she didn't want to have to deal with any more guilt.

"Swan Mace!" rang out from behind Chaos Chimera as White Swan clobbered all three heads with a prodigious swing of her Jet Weapon. The creature's tail loosened its grip on his hostages and Green Wyvern looked on as White Swan helped them escape.

"Etsuko's found him!" Black Condor shouted to his teammates. "This way!"

The squadron of four Blue Swallows threw a synchronized series of high kicks to their remaining Garo opponents. As the henchmen fell to the ground, Blue Swallow merged her doppelgangers back into herself as she followed Black Condor.

"Wait for me!" Yellow Owl called as he exercised his Owl Thunder by taking a sumo stance. His few remaining foes were toppled by the double dose of seismic waves.

"I love that part!" he said happily as he took off after his comrades.

As the team gathered, Chaos Chimera was still reeling from White Swan's triple shot. "Jetman, you will fall before the might of Chaos Chimera!" it threatened impotently.

"I doubt that!" Black Condor disagreed. "Jet Weapon Attack!"

With Black Condor's command, each Jetman produced their Jet Weapon and smashed the Chaos Myth Beast with it.

Black Condor - "Condor Lance!"

Yellow Owl - "Owl Axe!"

White Swan - "Swan Mace!"

Blue Swallow - "Swallow Bow!"

Green Wyvern - "Wyvern Boomerang!"

Chaos Chimera withstood the barrage, but only barely. The monster could hardly stand after taking the full brunt of all five Jet Weapons.

"Now's our chance!" Black Condor exclaimed. "Fire Bazooka!"

The team's super cannon materialized from the pocket dimension where it was stored. Each Jetman took their position in manning the weapon.

"Target - lock on!" Blue Swallow confirmed as she peered through the scope.

"FIRE!" the team shouted as the Fire Bazooka discharged. The energy burst enveloped Chaos Chimera and obliterated him completely.

Jetman lowered the Fire Bazooka as the firefighters around them began to make headway in extinguishing the blaze. "We got him!" Yellow Owl exulted quite loudly.

"Yeah, not a bad first mission as leader," Black Condor said as he eyed Green Wyvern through his visor.

***

"I don't have to listen to this!" Kei shouted as she pushed herself away from the conference table and began to storm away from the meeting.

"Oh, I think you do!" Ken retorted as he quickly got up and followed her. "I want some answers!"

Jet Phoenix and the rest of the team sat in silence. The morning meeting had started uneventfully, but had quickly degenerated.

Kei whirled around to face Ken. "What do I have to answer for this time?"

Ken stepped up to Kei. "When we got there last night, Etsuko is the one fighting the monster. You're standing around with a finger up your nose! What's the deal with that?"

Kei looked over Ken's shoulder at Etsuko. She was watching their exchange intently, but showed no sign of wanting to speak. Why didn't she tell them about the hostages? Did Etsuko hate her so much that she was willing to leave her to die on the vine? What about the truth?

"Well, what is it, Kei?" Ken inquired pointedly. "Are you with us or against us?"

Kei clenched her fists as she jutted her chin forward. "Did you...just accuse me of being a traitor?"

"Well, I don't know what else to think!" Ken replied angrily. "You're no coward and yet you just stand around while a monster burns up the docks! Can you give me a good reason why?"

Jet Phoenix rose to put a stop to the contentious war of words, but the alarm interrupted him. He made his way to the monitor bank.

"Unbelievable," he said in a stunned tone. "Two more of these Chaos Myth Beasts reported in a quarry near here."

"So soon?" Reiko asked incredulously. "They've never sent them out one after the other before."

"Maybe they fast-tracked production?" Gohan guessed.

"Locking coordinates now," Jet Phoenix reported. "Scramble!"

"Not with her, I hope," Ken protested as he pointed his thumb at Kei.

"Yes, she's going," Jet Phoenix replied. "Your charges are serious, but unproven. Kei is innocent until proven guilty. I want everyone in their Jet Fighters now!"

"That include the new 'Wyvern Fighter'?" Ken questioned Kei bitterly as they raced to the hangar. "We going to repaint it green, too?"

"It stays the Hawk Fighter," Kei responded quietly as they made their pre-flight checks. "Leave Gai out of this."

Jetman fired up their Jet Fighters and took off...their battle within more imposing than the fight ahead.

***

The Jet Fighters arrived at the designated coordinates and the team beamed down to the quarry. They didn't have to search for their adversaries. Standing amidst the rocks were two imposing metallic humanoids.

"Chaos Castor!" the red one introduced himself as he slammed his left arm across his chest.

"Chaos Pollux!" the blue one added, slamming his right arm against his chest.

The two monsters crossed their arms together. "Chaos Gemini!"

"Ooooh, so nice!" Ken sarcastically congratulated. "Everyone! Cross Changer!"

The team complied and their uniforms formed around them. Without another word, they charged Chaos Gemini.

Garo popped out of nowhere to impede the team's path. The henchmen seemed to have a knack for getting in the way. Not that it did them a lot of good.

"One side, goons!" Yellow Owl exclaimed as he swung a Garo by its legs and toppled its fellows like bowling pins. Blue Swallow flipped two over her shoulders. White Swan froze three more with her Swan Ice powers while Black Condor attacked unseen with his Condor Stealth.

Green Wyvern looked around as she slashed at a Garo with her Wing Sword. She saw an opening and broke away from the crowd. She had something to prove. She would take out both Chaos Gemini single-handedly. Let the others try to question her loyalty after that.

Green Wyvern lunged at Chaos Gemini with her sword. Both of them leapt into the air away from her. Unfazed, she called forth her Wyvern Boomerang and hurled it at them.

"Pollux Puncher!" Chaos Pollux shouted as his left fist telescoped out and knocked the weapon away.

"Castor Kicker!" Chaos Castor added as his right foot telescoped out at Green Wyvern and slammed into her face.

Chaos Gemini returned to the ground as their body parts locked back into place. The partners shook hands in triumph. "Excellent job, brother!" they complimented simultaneously.

Green Wyvern punched the rock-strewn ground. They were toying with her! She could easily beat the likes of them - she had countless times. What was wrong with her? Had she lost her edge completely?

A volley of arrows whizzed over her head. Sparks flew off Chaos Gemini's bodies as they struck their resilient skin. Green Wyvern knew that her backup had arrived.

"Jetman takes care of their own!" Yellow Owl emphatically declared to the Chaos Myth Beasts.

"That's right!" Blue Swallow confirmed as she lowered her Swallow Bow. "You fight one, you fight us all!"

Green Wyvern clambered to her feet as her teammates surrounded her. She noticed that, while they stood with her, neither Black Condor nor White Swan had added their voices in support.

"Bah!" Chaos Gemini scoffed at the same time. Each of them twisted the knob on their Chaosizer belt buckles and increased to gigantic proportions.

"Jet Fighters Scramble!" Black Condor ordered as the team called their Fighters and beamed aboard. "Icarus Gattai!"

Green Wyvern fidgeted in the cockpit of the Hawk Fighter as the Fighters fused together. After growing so accustomed to Dragon Wyvern, adjusting to a new mecha would be hard. The fact that it was Gai's only made it worse. And now, she would have to share control with her four teammates.

"Jet Icarus!" the team shouted together as they were assembled in their giant robot's control booth. The titanic machine surged forward to engage Chaos Gemini.

Chaos Pollux telescoped his fists out at the robot. Jet Icarus grabbed them before they could find their target. The mighty robot flipped Chaos Pollux over its head and sent the fearsome Chaos Myth Beast to the ground.

Chaos Castor grabbed for Jet Icarus, but the robot sidestepped him. "Let's start wrapping this up!" Black Condor pronounced. "Birdonic Saber!"

Jet Icarus' tremendous sword materialized in its right hand. With a sudden slash, the team brought the weapon down on Chaos Castor. The monster blew up on contact.

The team turned Jet Icarus around to confront Chaos Pollux as well, but discovered their opponent was shrinking back down to normal size against his will.

"Huh," Black Condor said. "I guess destroying his brother halved his power so he can't stay giant. Well, we'll go down to meet him!"

Jetman beamed down to the ground. They discovered Chaos Pollux hunched over, already half-defeated.

"Here's where we tie this battle up!" Black Condor exclaimed. "Fire Bazooka!"

"Swan Mace!" White Swan shouted as she used the weapon to clock Black Condor in the head. The Fire Bazooka fell to the ground to join Ken Tendo.

"Etsuko, what the hell?" a dumbfounded Yellow Owl asked.

"I am so sick of this Jetman fiasco!" she announced as she dismissively strolled away from her teammates. "From now on, I'm looking out for myself!"

Green Wyvern growled as she jetted after White Swan. White Swan turned quickly and caught Kei in mid-flight. She swung her round and round and then tossed Green Wyvern far off into the distance.

"Etsuko...no..." Ken implored as he groggily attempted to get up.

"And why not?" she rebuked sharply. "What have I ever gotten from Jetman? Frustration and humiliation, that's what! Being passed over for leader again was the last straw! The Chaos Coalition will give me the opportunity to make all my ambitions come true!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Blue Swallow said with an angry determination as she walked toward the woman she had thought was her friend.

White Swan stared her down. "As if you do!"

White Swan materialized an exotic-looking gun and almost imperceptibly fired it at Reiko. A projectile barreled towards Blue Swallow at lightning speed. Gohan, his reflexes so finely tuned after years of video games, reacted in the only way he could. He pushed Reiko out of the path of the projectile, knowing full well that meant it would hit him instead.

"Gohan!" Reiko cried as her teammate fell to the ground unconscious. She crawled over to him and pulled his helmet off as she cradled his head in her arms. "What did she do to you?"

"Poison dart," White Swan coolly explained as she slid a hand across the gun's barrel. "He'll be dead in 24 hours."

"But he's your brother!" Reiko screamed as she flung her helmet at the nonchalant White Swan.

White Swan shrugged. "It was meant for you. I can't help it if he's that stupid. Maybe it's better this way."

"N-n-no..." Ken gasped as he unsteadily rose to his feet. He took a swing at the woman he had held in his arms only hours earlier, but missed badly and fell back over.

"Pathetic," White Swan spat. "I need to put together my plan for destroying you losers once and for all. Come on, Chaos Pollux!"

The Chaos Myth Beast raised its head from where it had been cowering. It hadn't believed it would be spared no matter what the outcome of the intra-team brawl. Yet White Swan held her hand out beckoning him. He stumbled over to her.

White Swan spied a green dot heading her way at a rapid clip. She smirked as she decided to time her teleport beam so that Green Wyvern would arrive precisely one second too late to catch her.

Kei Mizuno cursed aloud as he skidded through White Swan's afterimage. She looked around futilely for her former comrade.

Just then, the rockets on Jet Icarus fired up and the robot took to the air. She was stealing Jet Icarus! And there wasn't a damn thing any of them could do to stop her.

"Oh Kei," Reiko sobbed as she held Gohan tightly. "He's dying. He's dying because he saved me."

Kei knelt down beside Reiko and Gohan as Ken staggered back to his feet. He watched in disbelief as White Swan, along with a Chaos monster, rocketed away in Jet Icarus.

What were they going to do?

 

TO BE CONTINUED

 

NEXT TIME ON RETURN OF JETMAN

Red Hawk is dead. Yellow Owl is dying. And White Swan has betrayed her teammates. The dream of Jetman lies in ruins. Can Jet Phoenix regroup the remaining members or is this the beginning of the end? RETURN OF JETMAN Episode 12 - "Know Your Enemy"!

 

 

Story © Christopher Elam, based on the TV series CHOJIN SENTAI JETMAN and the original "Return of Jetman" stories by Lewis Smith. JETMAN and all characters from the CHOJIN SENTAI JETMAN series © TV Asahi/Toei/Toei Agency. Original characters © Christopher Elam & Lewis Smith.