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11-30-2019, 09:49 PM | #1 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: florida
Posts: 339
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Somewhere in the US southwest on a lonely stretch of desert highway two dust plumes moved at an obviously illegal rate of speed. Accompanying the plumes were the sounds of two powerful custom built motorcycles, their deafening din reverberating across the empty wasteland. Hunched over one of the iron beasts was a woman sporting pink dyed hair and an outfit that could best be described as a combination of punk and post apocalyptic couture. The woman looked over at the rider of the other motorcycle. The man on this machine was similarly attired but with a shock of orange hair waving in the wind.
When the woman caught the man’s attention, she pointed off to the distance and cocked her head to one side. The man raised one hand in a questioning gesture and the woman pointed again, this time with more emphasis. The man shook his head in resignation, but it was obvious that he would acquiesce to the woman’s direction. Soon a rustic bar came into sight at the side of the road. The motorcycles slowed down and pulled off the road and came to a stop in front of the place. Already parked in the front were several other motorcycles, all American made and featuring large engines. Looking at the assembled hogs, it would not be a stretch of the imagination to expect that anyone foolish enough to arrive on a foreign made bike would be leaving quickly and possibly not without some less than gentle assistance from the bar regulars. As impressive as these bikes were, they seemed small in comparison to the newcomers’ machines. The custom built bikes gave the impression of being oversized Grizzlies standing next to juvenile black bears. As the pair of riders alighted from their vehicles, they pulled up the goggles protecting their eyes, and pulled down the bandanas covering their mouths. Both faces were attractive and bore a resemblance to one another. The woman’s visage, however, had a look that said,“tread lightly because even though I don’t know you, I don’t like you”. The man, who had a more passive expression, nodded to the bar. “Why are we stopping at the roach motel”? “Because Zandar, my little brother, I’m thirsty and I need to give Thrasher or Heartwrencher a call. I don’t like the sound of my engine and I want to see if there is anything I need to fix before we continue”. “Zarana, seriously? You can’t hear anything over these engines. And another thing, stop with the little brother cracks. You were born two minutes ahead of me. That doesn’t make you my elder or my superior”! Zarana retorted in a mocking tone, “That’s your grown up response? You’re not the boss of me? No wonder Zartan always calls me. Anyway, we will be back on the road soon enough”. “Fine” Zandar replied in a sulking tone. The two travelers entered the bar and Zandar immediately went to a small table in a dark corner. Zarana went to the bar and asked for two drinks, a whiskey, and a grape soda. “A grape soda”?, questioned the burly, unkempt, uncaring bartender. “What, do you think this is, Chuck E. Cheese”? , he mockingly asked. “Then give me a cola. Do you at least have that in this trendy, upscale establishment”? , Zarana intoned with a barely disguised sneer, and a stare that would put a diamondback rattlesnake to shame. “Yeah, I can do that”. The bartender sheepishly replied, deciding that it was probably in his best interest not to provoke this particular patron any further. The bartender handed Zarana the two drinks and quickly slunk away to the other side of the bar. Zarana downed the whiskey in one quick motion and then carried the cola away from the counter. While Zarana was having her “polite discussion” with the bartender, several men in the bar took notice of her. As a whole, the group looked like they came out of central casting for an outlaw biker film. Beards, bandanas, dirty jeans, and leather vests with the gang’s logo on it were the order of the day. In addition, a number of these men carried heavy chains or large knives on their belts. Some of the men viewed Zarana as an annoyance, an outsider strutting around their home turf. The other men watching Zarana’s body did so with something entirely different on their minds. Several of the leering men made rude gestures to one another, and then proceeded en masse over towards Zarana and Zandar’s table. There was one other individual gazing at Zarana’s table with interest. He was a tall, well built, handsome man with a sly smile. Though he sat by himself and off to the side, he stood out among the generally scruffy clientele of the bar. He gave off an aura of self- confidence and the impression of being a VIP spectator with a ringside seat to an eagerly anticipated sporting event. Zarana was on the phone with someone back at their personal garage while Zandar reluctantly sipped the cola. He really wanted a grape soda and did nothing to hide his disappointment. Zarana was speaking loudly to be heard over the noise of the bar. “OK, so that shouldn’t be a problem that I have to deal with until I get to the garage. Good. Hey, what are those disgusting sounds in the background? Is that Ripper and Torch having a belching contest? What freakin’ idiots! I’ll just talk to you later”. After she hung up, Zarana shook her head muttering, “it’s amazing how those clowns can irritate me from miles away”. Zarana’s musings were interrupted by a large bellied man with a thick black beard. “Hey baby, what brings you to our little slice of paradise”? , he said while giving Zarana a wide gap toothed smile that he considered charming. Zarana fixed the bearded man with her best “die, now” look, and hissed, “I don’t have time for this crap, so go back to your corner of this smelly outhouse that you call paradise, and leave me alone”! “Aw, sweetie, you really don’t want to talk to us that way. You hurt our feelings, and then we just can’t be as friendly as we want to be. I wouldn’t want to do anything to mess up your pretty face, or that of your pretty boy companion sitting there” the man said with underlying menace. Instead of looking frightened, Zandar basically looked bored with the whole affair. The bearded man continued on, “By the way, I like that little tattoo you have there with the skull and flames. You got any hidden ones that we can take a peek at?” he leeringly intoned, while looking Zarana up and down. All of the men crowding the table snickered and gave each other sideways glances. Suddenly one of them paid a little more attention to the tattoo, silently mouthing the word under the flaming skull …DREADNOK. Suddenly he stiffened and the smile vanished from his face. He began stuttering, “Uh, guys, I, uh…just remembered that I gotta do…that thing…uh”. Without uttering another word, he spun about and quickly rushed out of the bar. In short order, a motorcycle could be heard revving up, and with a loud screech the bike raced off at a high speed. “What’s wrong with him?” one of the throng asked, his thumb gesturing towards the door through which the biker with the suddenly urgent agenda exited. “The hell with him” growled the black bearded man. Turning his attention back to Zarana, “Now where were we? Oh, yeah. You were gonna start being nice to us. Right”? “Of course I am” Zarana purred as her lips formed an inviting smile, and her eyes turned beckoning. She took his large hairy paw in her two hands, and then, with an uncommon swiftness, she twisted the man’s wrist in a classical jiu jitsu wrist lock. While such locks can be achieved with minimum injury, unfortunately for this biker, Zarana doesn’t play that game. She twisted the wrist with such force that the tendons could be heard popping. The man’s eyes opened wide and an ear piercing scream escaped his lips. The bearded man dropped to his knees, grabbed his damaged wrist, and began sobbing. At this point, another man in the group, a tall rangy fellow with stringy hair, withdrew a large Bowie knife and pointed it at Zarana. “You just made one huge mistake”, he hissed. Without hesitation Zarana ripped a chain from another biker’s belt and whipped it around the knife wielder’s forearm. With a quick yank Zarana pulled the biker’s upper torso across the table. At the same time she drew one fist back, and then snapped it out in a backfist motion connecting her knuckles with the biker’s nose. The nose spewed blood and the man collapsed with his head smashing into the table. While all this occurred, Zandar continued to sit motionless, apparently forgotten by all the participants in the day’s drama. Several of the men still standing at the table started looking at each other with apprehension. None moved towards their fallen associates, having decided that they really didn’t like the injured men all that much. One of the men, braver and fitter than the others, saw Zarana’s actions as a challenge. He quickly took a fighting stance and snapped a side kick towards Zarana. Zarana bladed her body and caught the kick in the crook of one arm, and performing her best Cobra Kai imitation, brought the elbow of her other arm down on the side of the trapped knee, shattering it. The kicker grabbed his damaged knee, fell to the floor, and howled uncontrollably. Meanwhile, Zandar still sat staring at his half empty glass of cola, lamenting that it was not a grape soda. Having seen how the hand to hand combatants fared against Zarana, an older and perhaps wiser member of the group stepped back and drew from the small of his back an impressive Colt 1911 .45 caliber pistol. The man pointed the pistol at Zarana, who was too far away to make a grab for the weapon. “Honey, you just bought yourself a one way ticket to a shallow grave in the back of this place. You won’t be the first to go there, or the last, but I think that I will enjoy this one more than most”. The biker raised the pistol to eye level and centered the front site between Zarana’s eyes. “But you know what? I wanna prolong my enjoyment, so first I am going to shoot pretty boy, then you”. The older man swiveled his body towards Zandar’s seat and pointed the pistol right at the chair… where Zandar had been sitting. Only now, the only thing sitting there was a glass with some cola left in it. A look of puzzlement crossed the man’s face just as the heavy end of a pool stick came crashing down on the man’s wrist snapping it and sending the gun skittering across the table and onto the ground with a heavy clang. With a wide eyed look the man turned towards Zandar just as the pool stick smacked across his face. The man unceremoniously dropped to the floor. “No one notices me” Zandar stated as matter of fact. “That’s my curse, and my gift”. With that, Zandar swung the pool stick in a series of Bo staff type movements dropping several members of the group foolish enough to have remained in contact distance. Strikes to the legs, ribs, and stomach quickly ended the hostilities of even the most determined assailants. Zandar completed his routine with one final flourish, the end of which saw the pool stick come to rest under one arm, while Zandar’s other arm opened outwards in his best Bruce Lee pose. Then as if in the final challenge of an action movie, the tall handsome man slowly rose from his chair. With his eyes fixed on Zarana and Zandar, he confidently strode in a straight line towards them, an enigmatic smile spread across his face. How competent a fighter was this guy that he seemed not to have a care at the prospect of going against two skilled combatants who had just taken out a slew of hardened outlaw bikers. The siblings watched the stranger intently and warily. The man came to a halt a few feet from the pair and his smile widened. When he spoke it was in a friendly conversational tone. “I really enjoyed that show you put on. Those were some impressive moves. I run a gym and martial arts studio in the next town over. This bar is a hotbed for fights and I only came today to see if there were any interesting fighters, and I have to say, you sure are interesting, and not just because of your skills”. It was obvious to Zarana that the handsome man was hitting on her. The man then held up a business card between two fingers. “My name is Sam, and my number is on this card. How about the next time you come through this area, you give me a call, and we can grab coffee or maybe even dinner”. This time Zarana’s smile and seductive eyes were genuine. It took a lot to impress Zarana, but this guy fit the bill. She liked what she saw and would eagerly look forward to meeting this tall, dark stranger again. Next time it would definitely be in a more intimate setting. Zarana started to reach for the card when all of a sudden her smile faded and her eyes expressed complete incomprehension. The Adonis in front of her had completely disregarded her and handed his business card to Zandar. Now it was Zandar’s turn to smile. “Sounds good to me,” Zandar cheerfully stated. “By the way, my name’s Zandar”, and almost as an afterthought added, “Oh, and this is Zarana, my sister“. “I thought I saw some resemblance,” Sam stated without bothering to glance in Zarana’s direction. “Yeah, we’re twins,” Zandar stated. “But I got all the personality,” he laughingly added. This last comment had the almost impossible effect of making Zarana’s mood even darker than it had been a few seconds ago. “Ok, Zandar. Give me that call, and I’ll make sure you get that grape soda the next time you’re in town.” With a parting smile Sam departed, displaying that same confident swagger. “Well, what do you know,” Zandar chuckled, “Somebody finally noticed me.” Zanadar’s smile could not have been wider as he looked over at Zarana. Zarana glowered and stated in a short, clipped tone, “Well, Mr. Personality, we don’t have time for this … ridiculousness. We have somewhere to be. Get on your bike and let’s get out of here.” With that Zarana turned and purposely strode out of the bar, as if she was trying to outrun the embarrassment of coming in second to her brother, especially in this type of contest. Exasperated, Zandar followed again stating, “Two minutes, for the last time, being two minutes older than me does not put you in charge. In fact, I bet there isn’t even a birth record that proves you’re older, and that you just made that up.” The bar door closed behind the arguing siblings with a loud bang. The bar inhabitants, at least those still conscious, stared after them with astonishment. Soon, the sound of two massively powerful engines filled the air, and off rode the Dreadnok twins, one displaying what looked like a permanently etched scowl, and the other beaming with an air of self-satisfaction and superiority that he planned to hold on to for as long as it irked his sibling, who used to be the center of attention. |
12-01-2019, 05:53 AM | #2 |
Zarana & Zandar
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: The future of GI Joe
Posts: 3,260
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What an awesome story! I wasn't expecting that twist with Zandar, and I loved how Zandar kept telling his sister "two minutes doesn't make you the boss!" This is a great story. Do you have any plans to continue it?
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This is amazing! We're getting a ZANDAR figure! ZANDAR featured prominently in the Cobra Commander series! Character development! It's a great time to be a Zandar fan! Thank you, Hasbro!!! |
12-01-2019, 08:38 AM | #3 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: florida
Posts: 339
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Quote:
I don't currently have any continuing storyline in my mind, but maybe I'll come up with something for when the duo meet up with the other Dreadnoks. We'll see. |
12-02-2019, 09:38 PM | #4 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Grand Forks, North Dakota
Posts: 788
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What a great story. Hope to read more!!!!
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12-02-2019, 10:19 PM | #5 |
just a Marine
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: central PA
Posts: 1,681
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Quote:
I am really glad you liked it. I was trying to build on statements you made on other threads about the siblings being twins and a reference in one of the comics to Zandar's being gay.
I don't currently have any continuing storyline in my mind, but maybe I'll come up with something for when the duo meet up with the other Dreadnoks. We'll see. |
12-03-2019, 04:24 PM | #6 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: florida
Posts: 339
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I never really gave it a thought, but Zandar being gay kind of works. He was always the one off by himself, with his own thoughts. It would not be easy being gay and at the same time being part of the toughest motorcycle gang around. Plus, his his brother is the big man in charge and his sister takes crap from no one. He has been the forgotten man of the group, and it seemed like time for him to come into his own.
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12-05-2019, 07:31 AM | #7 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Idaho
Posts: 727
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Zanders gay?? No sarcasm or anything. Had no clue. Huh..
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Drunken Whaler |
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12-05-2019, 11:06 AM | #8 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: florida
Posts: 339
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Dreadnok Twins remarked that there was a subtle reference in one of the DDP stories that Zandar was gay. I don't particularly remember that issue but decided to go with it as it makes for an interesting twist.
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