Free torg 02 - The Dark Realm by Douglas Kaufman

I didn't go to the funeral. I never even met her."
    Julie came and stood beside Monroe, placing her hand gently on his arm. "You've got to help him, Dr. Monroe. You're the best chance he has right now. I've read your file. You're a brilliant surgeon."
    Monroe looked at her, catching her with his steady gaze. "I'm the best. Okay, let's examine the patient."
    Julie smiled. "I knew you'd come around."
    "Just remember," he said, seriousness creeping back into his voice, "my name is Monroe, not Decker."
     
    26
     
    Angus Cage tracked his quarry through the twisting tunnels beneath the temple, confident that he would catch him before long. Cage was a bounty hunter and a hero of sorts on Terra, the cosm that had produced the villainous Dr. Mobius. It was five years ago that Cage had battled Mobius in this very temple. Five years ago that Mobius fell into a seemingly bottomless pit, ending his threat to Terra forever. But there were other villains, like the one Cage tracked now.
    Purple Haze was a second-rate crook with a flashy gizmo that provided him with a fog screen. It wasn't the most powerful weapon, but it helped the Haze slip out of his grasp on more occasions than he cared to remember. This hunt, he promised, would be the last.
    Cage checked his own weapon, making sure his tommy-gun's ammo drum was snapped in. He adjusted his hat so it sat low over his eyes. Then he stopped to listen. There was talking coming from up ahead. From the sounds, Purple Haze wasn't alone. Great, thought Cage. Why do these little adventures always wind up getting complicated?
    He proceeded cautiously, expecting a trap around every bend. His nerves tensed when each turn produced nothing more threatening then clinging cobwebs. The voices were louder now, as though the speakers didn't care who heard them. Up ahead was a lighted opening. That's where the voices were coming from. Well, Angus, he thought, you always wanted to go out in a blaze of glory. This could be your big chance.
    Steeling himself with a couple of deep breaths, Angus
     
    The Dark Realm
     
    'Cage leaped through the portal and into a large chamber. The chamber, he noted, was full of costumed characters
    including many that Cage had met and dealt with over the years. He lowered his tommy-gun, shifted his hat back, and cleared his throat.
    The costumed men and women stopped talking and turned to regard Cage. He smiled.
    "That's better," Cage said. "Now, does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on in here?"
    An elderly gentleman stepped forward. Standing beside him wag a man in a long, dark coat who wore a dark blue mask and carried a diamond-tipped cane. Cage knew both of them — Dr. Alexus Frest and the guardian.
    "Ah, I'm glad you're here Angus," Dr. Frest said in his frail, aged voice. "We've been trying to contact you lor the past few weeks."
    "I've been busy," Cage replied. "As a matter of fact, I was just finishing a job when I happened upon your little gathering. Anybody seen a nasty little villain named Purple Haze run through here?"
    The Guardian snapped his fingers and the crowd parted. There, held fast between a Rocket Ranger and a fidget hero, was Purple Haze.
    "This isn't fair, Cage!" Haze screamed. "You tricked me! You had all these heroes waiting for me! Scared to lace me on your own, huh?"
    Cage ignored Purple Haze, turning to Dr. Frest. He and the scientist went way back. Frest had been forced by Dr. Mobius to construct the gizmos that made Mobius so formidable. Forced by threat of harm to his family a wife and daughter that Mobius had spirited away as insurance of Frest's cooperation. It was ten years ago I hat the Guardian rescued Frest's family, allowing the
     
    scientist to finally turn against his villainous master.
    "I'll ask again, Frest," Cage said. "What's going on?"
    "Mobius is not dead, Angus." Frest's words cut through Cage's rough exterior, striking his heart like cold ice. "All those gadgets and weapons he forced me to construct over the