Tales from the Cave-Sleeping Beauty

The Bargain

Now, by now, you are all probably wondering, what about Helle?  What is her situation thus far?  Well, after the christening crisis, Helle searched endlessly for Princess M'gann.  She sent her minions to every known corner of the galaxy, looking high and low, but with no luck. As the time for the princess's sixteenth birthday drew closer, all of Mars rejoiced. For they knew that as long as Helle's domain, the Coal Mountains, thundered with her wrath and anger, her evil prophecy had not yet been fulfilled.

Thunder roared through the castle, made entirely of charcoal and black magic, as it sat on the steepest and tallest of the Mountains, black lightning shooting in and out from the dark clouds overhead. The loud noise and blinding lights were proof of Helle's fury at the moment. She stood before her army of minions, who were tiny people, but with features of wild animals, such as boars, bats, and warty toads.

"UNACCEPTABLE!", she shrieked, wringing her clenched fists. "Sixteen years, SIXTEEN YEARS, you've been searching, and NOTHING! Its not like she could've just VANISHED into thin air! Are you sure that you looked EVERYWHERE?!" The leader of the minions stepped forward. "Yes! We looked every possible place she could be, even the places she'd least likely be!"

Helle quirked an eyebrow. "Did you check all the towns? All the forests? The mountains?" He nodded. "Yes! We checked every town, house, village, forest, mountain, castle, mansion, and cradle!" Helle looked at him. "Wait...what was that last one?"  "We looked in every last cradle!", he said for her.

She stared at him with wide eyes.  "Cradle?", she repeated, as if she couldn't believe what she just heard.  "Cradle?  Are you telling me that for the past sixteen years, you've all been searching for a baby?"  They all nodded.  One of Helle's red eyes twitched as she absorbed this new information.  Then, like a volcano, she erupted.  "FOOLS!  MORONS!  IMBECILES!"

She shot black lightning at her minions, setting their bums on fire, with ghastly green flames.  She collapsed onto her dark throne, one bony stark white hand over her face.  "That's it.  Its over.  At this rate, I'll never find the princess in time.  Its hopeless.  I've failed.  So much for getting my revenge."  She slouched over, moping over her loss, when all of the sudden, red smoke swirled in the middle of the room, purple lightning striking it from all sides.  She sat up straight as the smoke evaporated, revealing two sinister men.

One seemed to be in his middle ages, with an strangely-shaped head and three scars over his face.  He had long, shaggy black hair that fell to his shoulders, complete with muttonchops, and he wore a dark navy blue coat with gold decorations over a red silk shirt and black pants with thick black boots.  The other one was much younger, with a fancy black outfit that seemed like it came from the late eighteenth century.  His hair was styled to look like demon horns, and an orange cat with red eyes was draped over his shoulders.

Helle stood up, her hands swirling with darkness.  "Who are you?!  What dares you to enter my private castle?!"  The older man stepped forward.  "Do not be alarmed, my lady.  We are here to help you in your quest for vengeance.  I am Vandal Savage of Earth, and this is my partner, Klaricon the Witch Boy."  The younger one stepped forward, petting his feline.  "Pleased to meet your acquaintance."  "We understand you are looking for M'gann M'orrz of your native Mars?"

Her hands lost their dark glow as she looked at them.  "Yes!  Do you know where she is?!"  "Not exactly.", Savage told her.  "But we can lure her out of her hiding, so you can follow her home."  Helle smiled, then stopped when she realized something.  "What do you want in return?"  "Pardon me?"  "This sort of favor doesn't come free, for anyone, not even the greatest Sorceress of Mars.  What do I have to do in return for your help?"

Klaricon grinned.  "Well, there is this one thing you could give us a hand for..."  "Thought so.", Helle said, sitting back on her throne.  "Go on.  Shoot."  Savage stepped closer.  "You see, the princess is on Earth, fighting crime and villainy under the name Miss Martian, which is why we're willing to help you plunge her into eternal slumber.  But she also works with the Superboy, a clone created by Project Cadmus from DNA from the great Superman.  He was taken from our possession by three pesky sidekicks.  We ask that in return for our assistance to exact revenge on the King And Queen of Mars, you help us reclaim the weapon that is rightfully ours."

He extended his hand out towards Helle.  "Do we have a bargain?"  Helle put a finger to her chin, deep in thought.  Finally, she smiled at him.  "I think I can conquer up a plan."  She took his bulky, muscled hand in her thin, claw-like one, and shook it slightly.  "You've got yourself a deal, Savage."  She leaned back in her throne.  "Now, first things first, how do we lure the princess out of hiding?"

Vandal Savage grinned maliciously.  "Like I said, Miss Martian fights against crime and villainy.  Not only that, but her kind-hearted nature leads her to aid those in need.  So, I propose we do this..."