Lion-O paused for a moment on the barren mound, as he looked down into the dark, marshy valley before him.  A massive shape was hunched over in the dead swamps, towering like a living monster in its own right.  Castle Plundarr. The structure intself seemed designed more to frighten than as an actual castle.  The entire fortress was built to resemble a looming gargoyle.  Its doors were protected by claws and swamp.  Gigantic stone bat wings added to the imposing weight of the structure.  Its grotesque head swivelled from side to side, and occasionally the eyes would alight, and red beams would stab out into the swamp, no doubt scanning for intruders.  The castle had a personality, a monstrous presense.  It was Lion-O's enemy.  The individual mutants within were only extensions of the castle beast's power.

Today the beast would die.  He stepped down off the rocky crag and walked down into the valley.  It would have been best if he could have caught the monster by surprise, but he knew full well the capabilities of mutant sensors. Skulking up towards his enemy would do no good, but facing it full on might inspire fear in the mutants within.  A grinding noise sounded, and the ponderous head turned towards Lion-O, and the red searchlights jabbed out into the dark air, highlighting Lion-O in a crimson haze.  He raised his blade in challenge.

The stony beast's reaction was swift.  Its jaw slid open, and a massive ball of flame belched out towards Lion-O.  He darted forward, leaping as the fire hit the swamp bahind him and a hard concussive wave of force and shattered shards of deadwood exploded out from where the blast stuck.  He hit the ground running, sprinting straight at the castle implacably. Its claws spread and two Sky-cutters erupted out of the depths of the beast with their distinctive shrieking whine.  Jackalman and Monkian, noted Lion-O. He tucked and rolled to the side as they dove down, dirt blasting up into the air in long rows as they strafed him.  It would have been inconvenient if they were his target, since he had no ranged weapons to bring them down out of the sky.  But his target was the squat structure before him.  Once he was inside, their flying machines would be worse than useless.

He rolled onto his feet and leapt forward in time to dodge another chattering burst of scattered fire from the Sky-cutters, and a stream of death from the castle's vari-cannon slashed over his head with so much force he could feel the rush of boiling air even from the miss.  The quiet swamp was literally exploding around him.

But even the mutants seemed to realize they would be unable to stop his charge.  The heavy stone wings began to fold over the facade of the castle protectively, and then slender drawbridge over the murkiest waters of the swamp began to withdraw back towards the beast.  With a few powerful strides and a leap Lion-O touched down on the tip of the retreating drawbridge, now at the base of the castle itself.  The stafing stopped and the Sky-cutters pulled up sharply, not willing to rattle shots into their own home.

A cold, thick tentacle rose up from the swamp to grab at Lion-O.  The blade flashed and the bloody stump of the shorn limb retreated instictively into the waters.  Other occupants of the catle moat, frenzied by bloodlust, turned on the wounded creature until the swamp was bubbling with crimson water. Lion-O gave a sharp yell and slashed at the stone gate that blocked his entry.  The blade made a low sizzling sound as it sliced through the air, and the gateway shattered inward with stunning force.  Mutants had been right inside the doorway, awaiting the young Thunderan in ambush, but they were bowled over and dazed by the wave of force that battered in the walls.  Lion-O was inside and upon them before they even had a chance to recover, slicing through meat and stone like a whirlwind as he span through their ranks.  The blade never stopped moving.

A second wave attempted to counter attack him as he launched his way up the wide stone staircase that led up towards the head.  Some of these had lasers and rifles, but most had the usual assortment of grim, heavy looking weapons with assorted wicked spikes protruding from them.  He threw himself onto the ground to avoid the first burst of weapons fire, windmilling his legs around to force the others back.  Then he catapulted up and into the mass, crashing through them like a blast of energy.  He lashed out with his weapon, and arms fell from bodies and torsos fell from waists tumbling down the slickened, bloodied stairs.

He stepped through the carnage and up into the control room, the brain of the beast.  One lone figure stood against him, Slythe.  Long ago he had feared the mutant, with his squat, powerful body, slimy skin, fearsome face, and arms thicker than even Panthro's.  Now it was Slythe who seemed afraid, holding his long Battleaxe before his body with grim determination.  It was an act, of course.  Lion-O did not underestimate the mutant's cunning.

He sidestepped the clumsy blow from behind him aimed at his head.  Jackalman, no doubt.  Slythe was counting on his two cronies to land and attack from behind once Lion-O was distracted.  Lion-O thrust his arm backwards, feeling bones crunch as his elbow impacted the jackal's soft nose.  With a howl of pain the canine went down.  If Jackalman were here, than that meant-- The only warning to Monkian's attack was the low coughing sound as his shield spat out a cannonball at Lion-O.  Lion-O swung the blade across his chest to deflect the incoming attack.  Monkain made a low mumbling noise of fear and disbelief as his cannonball ricocheted of the lion's weapon and exploded in the wall behind him.  He didn't even have time to bring the shield up for another shot before Lion-O had closed the distance between them, his hand snaking out to grab Monkian's helm.  Lion-O pulled the simian's face downward to meet his rising knee.  Pain exploded behind the monkey's eyes as his face was pulled down into the kicking leg again and again, until he was allowed to settle onto the ground by Lion-O, a barely conscious, bloody mess. Slythe had not been idle with the time his lackey's had bought him.  He had sprung the pin from a warp gas grenade, and had nursed it in his hands for agonizing seconds.  Then he launched himself forward, pitching the grenade at Lion-O just as it exploded into a cloud of the mind altering gas.  He was prepared for this, and was holding his breath.  The explosion or the effects of the gas should be enough to distract the Thunderian for that last needed moment, to allow his battleaxe, which was even now slicing down towards Lion-O's head, to strike home.

A penetrating yell erupted from Lion-O's throat, followed by a wave of force that knocked Slythe backwards and blew the cloud of gas away.  "Hisss!  It'sss impossssible!" cried Slythe, regaining his feet and swinging his massive axe at Lion-O in desperation.  Lion-O flicked his wrist, and the tip of the blade shore off the head of the axe, which clattered to the ground uselessly. Lion-O's only answer to Slythe was to stab him in the chest.  The mutant's eyes grew wide in surprise and realization that he was about to die.  His clold blood froze for an instant.  Lion-O's expression changed slightly, and a pulse of poer flowed down from his hand, through the length of metal and into the reptile's body.  Slythe's internal organs swole and popped as though they had been microwaved.  A thin trail of blood seeped from his mouth and the body slumped over onto the ground.  The blade didn't have a drop of blood on it. Lion-O turned to face the two remaining mutants.  The wailed and quivered and made pitiful noises.  They knew it was all over.  Lion-O spoke, softly. "Run," he said.  "Keep running.  If you bother the creatures under my protection again I will destroy you.  Now take your lives and go."  The wounded mutants snivelled and rose up, fleeing as best they could.  Lion-O watched them go with an emotion akin to pity.

He stood alone in the control room.  The beast was so quiet now.  Lifeless. He brought up the sword, and struck a heavy, two handed blow to the conrol room.  Sparks leapt up as cables and stone shattered under the blow, and the mighty, hoary head tipped forward and sheered away from the castle, crashing down into the swamp below in a shower of debris.  Lion-O struck again, and again, lashing out almost blindly with all the power he had.

An hour later he was standing on the same rocky hill that he had observed the castle from earlier.  Now all that remained of the frightening stone creature was a sad looking pile of rubble.  Small fires burned here and there.  Phase one was complete, now all he had to do was let the rising smoke and the wind carry the word of his victory from village to village.  Soon they would come flocking to him, and he could begin the second phase of his plan.  He looked up at the sky.  "I'm coming for you, Jaga!"