Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

Captain smiled nervously in all directions, then hurried back to his bridge. The humans looked at each other uncertainly.
    "I always liked superheroes," said Finlay. "I was a big fan, when I was a kid.
    You could always depend on superheroes to save the day."
    "That was then, this is now," said Anything. He'd changed into his best fighting shape, with spiked knuckles and elbows and razor-edged hands. "When they were made intelligent, the superpeople realized that though they looked human, they could never be human. I think it drove a lot of them crazy. Serves them right.
    Why pine to be human, when you could be more than human, like the Furies? They were the real superpeople."
    "Why are you here, machine?" said Giles. "You've made it clear enough you don't care for humans."
    "I want an end to the threat of the Red Man and his army," said Anything. "And you appear to be the best bet for that. But when it's all over, and you're gone, and the planet is ours again, trust me—I won't shed a single tear to be shot of you all. This is our world now, not yours."
    And he turned and stalked away, the sun gleaming brightly on his silver body.

    "I hope it rains, and he rusts," said Toby.
    The Merry Mrs. Trusspot slipped in beside the River-bank, as close to the fake city as she could get, and then shut her engines down to the faintest murmur. No sense in drawing anyone's attention. Anything lowered a gangplank, and the party went ashore, holding their axes more like weapons than cutting tools. At the toys' insistence, they stood and listened for a while. In the distance, there was the sound of something that might have been fighting, but it seemed comfortably far away. Finlay and Giles, Toby and Flynn set about hauling in broken flats and parts of fallen buildings, while the toys labored to cut them into manageable sizes. The sound of steel cutting into wood seemed dangerously loud in the quiet.
    It was hard and sweaty work for the humans. The Goat and the Bear labored tirelessly, torn between the need for speed, and their desire not to show the humans up too much. Anything didn't give a damn. He stomped back and forth, carrying the heaviest weights he could find, his servomechanisms barely whining.
    Poogie's cartoony hands had trouble grasping the axes, so he worked beside the humans, helping them carry awkward shapes and sizes. Halooweenie busied himself carrying cold drinks from the ship to the humans.
    Giles and Finlay worked pretty much in silence, apart from the occasional grunted order. This wasn't their kind of work, but they couldn't spare the breath for complaints. Unlike Toby. They worked for the best part of an hour, piling up chopped wood and hauling it on board, and then the feeling of being watched grew stronger. People began looking suddenly over their shoulders, or turning around suddenly. They tried to work faster. This was a bad place, and all the humans could feel it now. The Sea Goat stopped suddenly, straightened up
    from his work, and looked out into the city, his great pointed ears upright and quivering. Bruin Bear moved in beside him.
    "What is it?" he said quietly.
    "It's the battle," said the Goat. "It's moving this way. The superpeople are coming."
    "Right, that's it," said the Bear. "Everyone grab as much as you can carry.
    We're leaving."
    "We can't," said Anything. "We don't have enough wood yet."
    "We do if we're careful," said the Bear. "Now for once in your life, don't argue. There isn't time. They could be here any minute."
    They all carried as much wood as they could back to the ship, then formed a human chain for the last few pieces. Merry Mrs. Trusspot fired up her engines, vented steam as quietly as she could, and waited for everyone to get back on board. They could all hear the superpeople now. There were shouts and cries, crashing and tearing sounds, and what sounded like energy discharges. The humans saw the increasing tension in the toys, and tried to move faster. Finally Bruin Bear raised his paw for them to stop.
    "That's it. Time to go."
    "We need more," protested Poogie.
    "We'll manage."
    "Just let me get one last piece!"
    And Poogie the Friendly Critter, eager to help as always, went charging down the gangway to get the last heavy piece of wood he'd dragged in. Anything started to go after him to help, but the Bear made him wait at the top of the gangway. And then the superpeople came.
    They came flying through the sky in their brightly colored costumes, swooping
    and diving like