Brent Cosmos: A Hero's Quest

Chapter 3: The Princess's Challenge

    “Ugh! Why do I even bother?” I said as I got up out of my throne and stomped around back and forth angrily. “No matter how much crime I stop, now matter how much evil I vanquish, no matter how many villains I defeat, everyone thinks I’m just…just…” I stopped there. I didn’t even want to say the word I was thinking of: evil. I’ve been protecting Fury for years ever since my dad died, but it didn’t seem like I had been officially accepted as a hero yet. Even though some people thought that I was doing an okay job, others felt differently. They didn’t agree with my…methods of fighting evil.
    So maybe I get a little destructive sometimes, all that matters is that the bad guys get beaten, right? Maybe I do go a little overboard sometimes, but hey it’s not my fault that I’m all-powerful, it’s just they way I am. And it’s true that sometimes I let my Destructoid side get the best of me and I might do something that I’m not proud of, but I never go too far…well not usually. Still, the bottom line is, I’m NOT evil. I mean I’m violent, aggressive, and dangerously psychotic…but I’m not evil.
    “I hate Stryker! I hate Big Time! I hate daytime television!” I yelled as I continued to stomp around the throne room. “There’s only one thing I can do now!” Then I reached into my utility belt and pulled out a boom box. I pressed the play button and super jazzy music began to play. As I felt the music take me, I started to dance. I danced like a crazy fool and I didn’t care. I called this “angry dancing.” It’s something I do when I get mad. I turn on some nice tunes and just dance my anger away. I know that might seem strange to you, but it actually did start to make me feel a little better. After a while, I had pretty much forgotten what I was mad about, but still, I kept on dancing. It never failed, no matter how mad I was music always had a way of soothing me to my very core.
    I’ve always loved music. When my dad was around, we used to sing and play music together all the time, whenever he wasn’t training me to be a hero of course. I even learned how to play the electric guitar. Music always had a way of calming me down, and making me feel better. Probably because whenever I played or listened to music, it reminded me of all the good times I had with dad before I lost him. I didn’t let it show all the time (at least not in public), but I really did miss him a lot. Sometimes I feel like if he was still here to guide me, things might be different.
    As I continued to dance around my castle like a maniac, I heard something ringing. At first I thought it was just part of the song, but then I realized it was actually my cell phone. I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it.
    “Hello?” I said.
    “Hello Brent,” said the beautiful female voice coming from the phone. That was the voice of Misty Enchantra, princess of Amazonia. She was my sidekick, and my best friend in the world.
    “Oh hey Misty, what’s up?” I said perking up even more.
    “Not much,” she replied. “What’s with that music I hear in the background? Are you angry dancing right now?”
    “Umm…no,” I said as I quickly stopped dancing and turned off the boom box. “Why would I be angry dancing? I’m just fine. I mean I only angry dance when I’m angry, and I can definitely say that I’m not angry right now.”
    “Alright, if you say so,” Misty giggled. She clearly knew I was lying but she didn’t want to make me even angrier by calling me on it. She’s thoughtful like that. “Anyway, I was wondering if you could come to Amazonia to see me today.”
    “To Amazonia?” I said. “Why?”
    “Oh no special reason, there’s just something I’d like to talk to you about.”
    “Oh really?” I said apathetically. I knew Misty well enough to know that when she calls me to Amazonia because she wants to “talk,” it usually meant one thing: she wanted me to do something for her. Honestly I didn’t really feel like going to Amazonia at first, but then I thought that seeing Misty might help me take my mind off things even more. So I figured it couldn’t hurt. “Alright Misty. I’ll be there in a flash.”
    “Great!” she said happily. “I’ll see you soon,” she then blew me a kiss over the phone. I blushed a little as I hung up.
    “Well,” I said to myself. “A nice social call to a friend might be just what I need right now.” With that, I ran outside Cosmos Castle with lightning speed. Then I flew into the sky, over of the edge of Cosmos Island and across the sea. My destination: the island of Amazonia.
    Amazonia was a small but thriving island whose only inhabitants was a race of all females known as the…well, Amazons obviously. The Amazons are fearless warriors who are strong, capable, and intelligent. They also have a bit of a sore spot for men, which is pretty understandable. Long ago the Amazons were once slaves to evil male warriors who abused and mistreated them. Eventually they had enough, and they rebelled against their cruel imprisoners and took over the entire island making it an all woman utopia. Any woman who has had a hard life, wants to become strong, or just wants to live in peace in world without men is welcome on Amazonia. The Amazons hated men with a passion. Or rather they used to, before I came along.
    If you knew me you’d probably think that Amazonia isn’t my kind of place, and you’d be right. Nevertheless, this island held a very special place in my heart for two reasons. 1: it’s where I earned my title as a hero, and 2: it’s where I met my best friend. You see, in order for a Cosmos to earn their mark of power (the lightning bolt symbol on our chests), we must complete a heroic deed on the day of our birth before sunset. On my 10th birthday, I completed my heroic deed and earned my mark by saving Amazonia from an evil villain.
    Amazonia used to be protected a by a powerful magical object known as the fantasy stone. It was an amazing jewel that granted wishes, made dreams become real, and altered reality. Now someone could potentially use that stone to rule the world, but the Amazons only used it to protect their island. But one day about six years ago, a powerful, evil villain stole the stone to use its powers to control all of Fury. Who was this villain? Well, we’ll get into him later. Anyway, it would’ve been over for the Amazons (and the whole planet) if I hadn’t shown up. I was able to get the fantasy stone away from the villain…except there was a little complication. You see Destructoids also have the power to adapt and absorb (steal) powers from others, so when I saved the fantasy stone I also accidentally absorbed it.
But hey, on the plus side I gained the power to alter reality. Oh did I forget to mention I could do that? Because that’s kind of important…oh well. Reality bending is by far my strongest power, but using it is always a bit risky. I usually use it for small things like bringing inanimate objects to life or changing objects into other things. Still, doing really big things takes a lot of energy and concentration. This can really weaken me and wipe me out so I try to keep it simple.
    By saving Amazonia I earned my mark of power and was finally recognized as a hero (at least in the eyes of my family anyway). And to top it off, at 10 years old I had achieved the record for being the Cosmos to earn his mark at the youngest age. I even broke my father’s record of earning it at the age of 13. After saving Amazonia, the Amazons began to realize that maybe not all men are bad. They weren’t even mad about their loss of the fantasy stone, they were just happy that their island was safe. They even told me that I was welcome to come back and visit their island anytime I wanted. Which I did, but mostly just to visit Misty.
    Even though I had saved Amazonia, I have to admit, I couldn’t have done it without Misty’s help. She even helped me to realize that just because I have evil powers, doesn’t mean I have to be evil, and I will always be grateful to her for that. After that fateful day, I gave her the extremely amazing honor of being my official sidekick. Whenever I need help fighting evil, she’s always right there to help me out. She’s gotten me out of trouble a lot of times. My dad may be gone, but it’s nice to know I’ve got someone to watch my back.
    As I flew over the ocean, eventually I saw Amazonia come into view. Like I said before it was a small island, but its beauty was great. As I flew over the island I saw all the different Amazons all doing their designated jobs. Hunters capturing animals for food, harvesters gathering fruits and vegetables, and warriors training to become stronger. All of them were shapely, beautiful women. As they saw me flying overhead, they all smiled and waved to me. I grinned and waved back. The Amazons were always happy to see me. Unlike some people on Fury, they knew the truth about what a hero I was and remembering that always gave me a nice feeling inside.
    Soon enough, I came to a beautiful castle. It was Castle Enchantra, where the leader of Amazonia, Queen Alicia Enchantra lived. She was the leader of the rebellion against the evil men who had enslaved the Amazons. After they took over the island they made her queen. I walked into the castle and down the long corridor into the throne room. There sitting on her throne looking absolutely gorgeous was Misty’s mother Alicia, Queen of the Amazons. She had two guards standing on either side of her throne holding spears looking ever serious, but when she saw me approach her face lit up with a beautiful smile.
    “Ah, Brent Cosmos,” she said joyfully. “How nice it is to see you.”
    “Hey, what’s up Queenie,” I said. I know that might’ve sounded a little rude but the queen giggled at my reply. Alicia and I had a special bond, I was probably the only man in the world who could get away with addressing her like that.
    “How is Fury’s greatest hero today?” she asked. Her question made me smile.
    “I’m good…and a little bad. But that’s how I always am.” I said. The queen chuckled. It even looked like her guards were about to laugh. “Anyway I’m here to see Misty. She said she wanted to talk to me.”
    “Ah yes,” the queen said. “She has something very important to discuss. I’d be prepared if I were you.
    Be prepared? I thought. Why would I need to be prepared to talk to Misty? I was confused, but I figured it would be better to just go see for myself instead of just standing around thinking about it.
    “Guard,” the queen said. “Please inform Misty that her guest has arrived.”
    “Yes your highness,” The guard said. She then walked into the hall and down to Misty’s room. As I started to followed I waved to the queen. She smiled and winked at me.
    Meanwhile in Misty’s room, she was sitting in front of a mirror and brushing her luscious, golden blonde hair. Everything about Misty was absolutely stunning. She had dazzling green eyes, flawless skin, and an incredibly perfect body. Misty was even rumored to be the most beautiful woman on all of Fury. But don’t let her pretty face fool you, she is a force to be reckoned with. Ever since I made her my sidekick, she had trained and trained until she was the strongest warrior on Amazonia. No one had ever defeated Misty in battle before…except me. Still, she was one the strongest people I know. She always says she works so hard so that she can be strong enough to support me, but I knew she was really doing it for herself. At first Misty’s mother wanted her to be the next queen of Amazonia but Misty didn’t want to be queen, she wanted to be a warrior. And by making her my sidekick, I had given her the life of adventure she’s always wanted. She’s always loved me for that.
    Soon the guard had entered Misty’s room. “Your highness,” she said with a bow. “Brent Cosmos has arrived.”
    “Thank you,” Misty said as she turned around in her seat. “Please send him in.” The guard nodded and left the room. Soon after I entered crawling on top of the ceiling like a spider until I was right above the spot where Misty was sitting. “Do you always have to come into my room like that? It’s so creepy.” I then turned my head all the way around so that I was looking right down at Misty.
    “Really? I don’t see how,” I said. Misty giggled. I dropped down from the ceiling and onto my feet. I then put a serious look on my face. “Alright Misty, what-,”
    “Um Brent,” she said interrupting me. “I’m over here.” I looked and realized that my body was facing Misty but head was still on backwards. I turned my head around and cleared my throat embarrassed.
    “As I was saying,” I continued as if nothing happened. “What do you want.”
    “Want?” Misty said with obvious feigned naivety. “What would make you think that I want something?”
    “Come on Misty. You and I have a very special dynamic. Whenever I call you to my island it’s because I want to hang out, or because I want you to help me fight evil, or because I need you to scratch that part of my back that I can’t reach. Whenever you call me here it’s usually because you want me to do something that I’m probably not going to be too keen on doing. So let’s hear it.” Misty smiled. Seems like I was right on the money.
Misty then stood up and walked right past me without saying a word. She stood there in the middle of the room silently. Suddenly she turned around swiftly and pointed her finger right in my face. Her face had the most serious look I’ve ever seen.
    “Brent Cosmos,” she said. “I challenge you to a duel!” I was completely dumbfounded. I didn’t know what to say.
    “A duel?” I said. “Like a fight? You want to fight me?”
    “That’s right!” Misty said. I could tell that she wasn’t kidding in the slightest.
    “Why?” I asked. “Are you mad at me? Is this about me accidentally shooting you last week? C’mon Misty it was a beanbag round, it didn’t even break the skin!”
    “I’m not mad at you,” Misty said. “I just want to duel you. I can’t explain right now, but this is really important to me. It’s something I have to do.” I still didn’t get it. Misty and I have sparred with each other when trained together, but we hadn’t actually fought each other since the day we met. But I could tell that Misty really wanted this for whatever reason and I doubt there was anything I could say to talk her out of it. I guess I had no choice.
    “Alright,” I said. “I don’t know what this is about, but Brent Cosmos: Great and All-Powerful Superhero, never refuses a challenge! You’re on princess!” Misty smiled. She was really happy. I guess this was something that she really wanted.
    “One more thing,” she said still grinning with satisfaction. “If I happen to win our little battle, then you have to grant me one request.”
    “A request?” I asked.
    “That’s right. If I win you have to grant me one request no matter what it is. Deal?” She extended her hand. I still didn’t understand what was going on with her, but not being one to back down, I grabbed her hand and shook it.
    “Deal,” I said. Misty continued to smile while gazing into my eyes with extreme intensity. Suddenly I started to feel a little nervous. What have I gotten myself into? I thought.