CARNIVÉAN (CONT)
Nowhere to hide. What tricks will you play now, worm?
Fire falls in front of him, illuminating his almost magical ascent. The same face from the wall with large, lobe-less ears coming to a point near the back of his huge head. There’s a small rebreather around the collar of his armored torso with fur protruding from the shoulders and hanging around the waste. He has spiked pauldrons over the bulging biceps and bracers on the wrists of his otherwise bare arms, and armored boots with fur protruding from the tops of them as well. All nine-plus feet of him slowly clear the roof, his arms outstretched at his sides with a small cannon and drum clip in his right hand. He begins to float towards Leo with his feet hovering just off the ground.
CARNIVÉAN (CONT)
Pursue not the Noy Jitot with such feeble toys.
Leo opens fire with the shotgun again, but like the rain, the explosions seem unable to reach Carnivéan. Carnivéan raises the cannon to return fire, and Leo raises his left arm, erecting a bubble shield of his own just in time to deflect a hail of bullets in a shower of sparks.
LEO
Vuck me!
CARNIVÉAN
Maybe I spoke too soon. In that case, let’s do it the way my people, Rocknol from Notho Vega, used to do it.
He throws down the machine gun and cracks his knuckles, continuing to float towards Leo. Leo backs up to the edge, glancing over it, looking around for a way out as the blue neon pulses over his shoulder.
The pirate’s words ringing true, Leo resolves himself to fight. He cocks the shotgun and puts his left hand inside his coat.
LEO
C’mon then, monster, let’s do it.
CARNIVÉAN
Hahahahaha! Damn right I’m a monster.
Leo’s left hand emerges with two small clear grenades held between his fingers. He rushes Carnivéan, palming one of the grenades and squeezing it until it turns purple, then firing a slug from the shotgun, which surrounds the pirate’s shields in fire, and rolling the grenade towards Carnivéan unnoticed.
He then immediately pumps and fires the gun again before tossing it aside, as he hurls the other grenade, now glowing red, right at Carnivéan, whom swats it away causing it to blow up in his face but outside his shields, again engulfing him in flames that don’t touch him.
Then the grenade Leo rolled, rolls right under Carnivéan and explodes, inside his shields, launching him backwards in a fireball, crashing into the burning wreck of the copter.
CARNIVÉAN
Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!
Leo continues to charge drawing his pistol from earlier and another grenade, which he squeezes until it glows a faint, dull blue. Jumping over the hole caused by the successful attack, he nears the fiery wreck.
However, at the last second the scorched monster emerges from the flames, electricity arcing up and down his spine, hurling a fiery chunk of metal at Leo’s head. He dodges it, but that gives Carnivéan enough time to close what little gap remains and he knees Leo right in his diaphragm, causing him to drop his gun and spit blood.
He picks the human up by the collar of his coat, leaving his feet dangling a couple of feet off the roof.
CARNIVÉAN
You trashed my extech. I’ll put your eyes out for that.
The brute headbutts Leo, breaking his nose.
CARNIVÉAN (CONT)
Any last words before you crawl the afterlife blind?
LEO
Yeah… Eat this!
Leo raises his head and spews blood in his face. Carnivéan licks the blood from his face and wipes it from his eyes, as Leo slips his left arm free from the coat sleeve. No sooner than he opens his eyes, Leo grabs the back of his head with his left hand and headbutts the alien right under his pronounced brow, directly on the fragile ridge of his almost nonexistent nose, then kicks himself free as the pirate lets go, crying out in pain.
CARNIVÉAN
AHHHH!
The grenade, now stuck to the back of Carnivéan’s alien head, beeps and shines, and Leo rushes to raise his arm and get his shield up. The shield forms and pushes the two of them apart a bit as it does. Carnivéan panics grabbing at his head.
Then, the grenade and his head erupt, sending a shockwave into Leo’s shield only feet away. It breaks Leo’s arm, dropping his shield, and launching him back, bouncing and careening across the roof until he crashes into the curved top of the fire escape ladder, bending it. Struggling to remain conscious, he looks up to see the headless remains of the alien lying burning.
Then another copter comes down hovering just off the roof, and a shorter man gets out limping with his arm in a sling and slowly approaches Leo.
SWAMP THING
Sorry I wasn’t more help my friend…
He looks over to the burning remains.
SWAMP THING (CONT)
…but no more Carnivéan. Pirate hunter from Avalon indeed.
Leo grins a bloody grin then passes out.
CUT TO BLACK
