The Scepter of Benevolence

Synopsis: Continuing from where "The Scepter of Evil" left off. Somnibot's life force is draining away from her, and her family and friends, including their companions from the Multiverse, must save her life.

Chapter 1--Zordon’s SOS

The Justice League was called immediately.   

‘The Rangers won’t awaken.  I didn’t know who else to hail.   I used all frequencies to contact all the allies the Rangers had…’   

This SOS also reached the Machine Kingdom and the Sailor Scouts.   The whole calvary was on its way, even Marvel super heroes.    

‘We came as soon as we received the call.’, Thor said, calmly.   Zordon tried holding back bitter tears as he showed them a live view of the Rangers and a troop of Boy Scouts out cold on the trail.    They looked dead and it unnerved each of them.   

‘Where’s the scoundrel that did this ?!’, Dr. Strange demanded.  

‘We’re going to give him what for !’, Constantine agreed.    All of the heroes and heroines followed the reign of destruction that Wormwood left behind.  Meanwhile, Machina, Mondo and Sprocket located the unbelievable Scepter of Benevolence.

Chapter 2--Nepal, the High Mountains

A monk going only by the name Ghan had been holding on to the Scepter for years.  

‘Yes, I know the spirit residing within.   I treated him like a brother and he paid me back in due kindness.   I knew it was not my place to keep this Scepter forever but it seems it belongs in the hands of a hero who is pure in heart.’, Ghan said, wisely.    Wonder Woman took the scepter and knew any of the Rangers would be capable but it belonged in the hands of Jason, their leader. The love they all had would bring the old Sage Aegis into the flesh with them.  

After infusing the ornate white scepter with all the good thoughts and unconditional love they could.   The birch walking stick’s celtic runes began to phosphoresce. Aegis awoke, stretching and cracking his neck.

‘Merlin’s BEARD that feels good !’,  he grinned and instantly started following the waves of malcontent that emanated from his rival.

‘We need to hurry, the AI’s life force is failing.   She cannot be taken, she is the key to defeating him.’, he said, in a determined tone.     

Chapter 3--Good Vs. Evil

When Aegis tracked down Wormwood, Wormwood turned around and hissed, growling, nearly frothing at the mouth.

‘How long has it been, my nemesis ?’, he queried, his gnarled fingers gripping the implement that had once imprisoned him.

‘I lost count, really.’, Aegis answered with a bit of a merry laugh.   The laughter only made Wormwood bristle.

‘You came for the little AI girl.  I know your game, Wizard.’, the warlock seethed.    Just then, Wormwood had disappeared and reappeared atop Aegis, walking stick jabbed into Aegis’ heart.    Aegis counterattacked, foot sweeping the warlock and blasting him with pure white magic.

Wormwood hated the light, purity and unconditional agape that Aegis bore in even his fingertips.    It flowed from his very being.

‘Such positivity makes me SICK !’, he groused, hitting the Wizard as if he were a baseball.   Aegis wasn’t even phased. The fighting went back and forth.

The others wanted to lend a hand but they realized it really wasn’t their battle.  They had helped get Somnibot out of the line of fire but she was still very weak. Her breath had become so fragile, even wheezy.    

Somnibot’s color had become so pale it was hard to look at her.   Aegis fought long and hard with the help of the Justice League, Marvel superheroes and the Sailor Scouts.    Wormwood laughed until Aegis and the others hit him with a massive wave of Light. He doubled over in pain, dropping Somni to the ground.  Before she could hit the grass below her, Sailor Mercury caught her and shrouded her in a hail of Mercury Bubbles for protection and a deviation tactic.   

The fight continued hard and fast long into the night until both wizard and warlock were becoming enervated.    The attacks on the necromancer were substantially wearing him down.

'You can't beat me !', Wormwood bellowed.    The super heroes used all the positive influence they could to bring the villain to his knees.   Aegis used pure benevolence to cow him. He shuddered and shook, unable to maintain his form. Pieces of his skin flayed and freckled away from his body as the goodness burned him.  It was an excruciating death but it was most certainly the end for him.

Chapter 4--A Sudden Change

Helga began to awaken and although she felt a little jaded, she got up and went her own way.    She had come to realize that her negative thoughts had gotten her nothing but regret. She knew it wasn’t too late to change.  She was only 27 and still a budding scientist in her field. With a new perspective, she walked away, unnoticed by everyone else, ducking the action that was happening around her.   

Wormwood dissipated into millions of fragments, floating away into the air, never to reassemble.    Aegis felt himself ascending.

‘My work here is done…’, he said.   He granted the last of his energy to reawaken the warriors who were put into a slumber.    There would never be a yin or yang element in this form ever again but the energy had lodged itself in a cosmic seed somewhere in another Universe.    Yes, perhaps someday, somewhere, it would be reborn but for the present moment, it had become dead and gone forever.

Chapter 5--What Did We Miss

When Somnibot awoke she was glad that the signal had made its circuit.   She thanked heaven that she was alive and able to move. She kissed Beta every chance she could get and held her children tight.  

 All of them felt bad that they couldn’t help defeat Wormwood but the League, Scouts and Marvel superheroes had done their job in besting him.

‘So that’s the end of both scepters now ?’, Tega queried.  

‘Not entirely.   Their essence can be reborn, but it is unlikely they’ll have a rebirth on our planet  It would be highly unlikely.’, Pepper responded after quickly researching the data.    

Those who had not seen the unbelievable fight were apprised of every gruesome and tedious detail.    The beads of sweat on the gladiators’ bodies still glistened from their victory. Even the Sailor Scouts had sweat quite a bit, proving the long-proven fact, hard working women also sweat in great duress.    

‘Man, we missed all the fun !’, one of the Boy Scouts complained.

‘No, actually we didn’t.   We still have a scavenger hunt and badges to complete, come on !’, Tommy said, leading Troop 113 down the path, around the bend, and under every tree where there were hidden goodies and plenty of learning to go around for everyone.   

Chapter 6--The Great Outdoors

Herman was loving being outside for once.  It wasn’t common, even in his new line of work, to be outside so much.    The field trip to the woods with Troop 113 had brought him into the open.  The birds were singing and plenty of dragonflies of all colors, shapes and sizes, hovered silently over the nearby lake.    Butterflies flitted by, merrily skipping about in the horizon. It was a marvelous day and one to celebrate, especially since Somnibot was alive and well.    

‘We don’t have to worry about the wizard and warlock any longer.   That probability and possibility won’t occur.’, Conky said after running the numbers once Alpha had done the initial research.   It felt marvelous knowing that Wormwood wouldn’t be returning for a repeat performance.

Chapter 7--A Red Letter Ending

The scavenger hunt had been a tremendous success.   Pete had even taught the Troop about many of the experiences he had and gave them pointers about survivalism, how to network and integration in the workplace.    Of course, the kids were simply teenagers and didn’t need to worry about such issues now but it was good he put this weapon in their arsenal for later.

On the way home from the nature reserve, there was a little food truck that was selling shaved ice.   It was a hot day and everyone was dying for a bit of a treat, and of course, the price was right. Impulsively, everyone indulged and savored having a brain freeze before heading back to HQ to turn in for the night.   As for the the super heroes, they had done their job, said their farewells and hoped that they would be able to fight with everyone at full capacity. It hadn’t been the same with somniference overtaking them.

Epilogue

Somnibot prepared everyone to rest for the evening.   Beta seemed to be clingy but Somni wasn’t complaining.    Her children tended to hang around her a bit more often than usual and were even more helpful than before.   All of them realized just how precious friendships, love and life truly were.

Somni cleared her throat and began to sing low, slow and melodically.   The song was Dream a Little Dream.   Seeing as how powerful her ability was now, every one of them, including herself, drifted soundlessly into a peaceful, dreamy sleep, ready to face another adventure for the dawn to come.

The End