Post by dans on Mar 28, 2024 21:46:37 GMT
| Prior Appearances of Dr. Diamond: The Golden Age Origin of Dr. Diamond A Small Gambling Problem The Photomortic Effect Read all the chapters in the introduction to 'The Greatest American Movie' Chapter 1: Blue Fire in: Out of Circulation Chapter 2: Black Zero in: Submarine Sabotage Chapter 3: Lady Fairplay in: Mississippi Mayhem Chapter 4: Mirror Girl in: Kidnapped Chapter 5: Dr. Diamond in: War Zone Fort Rosecrans Chapter 6: Fearless Flint in: Intrigue in Washington Chapter 7: Willow Wisp in: Cold Justice Chapter 8: Master Mystic in: The End of the Beginning (Read me last!) |
Free at Last!
A withered man sat in the cluttered laboratory, his thin frame chained to the floor like a caged animal. He had seemingly spent his whole life in this room, his prison. Long wisps of white hair hung limply around his face, blending into his unkempt beard and mustache. His clothes were disheveled and dirty, as if he had been wearing them for months without change.
But none of that mattered to him now. Lying on the workbench in front of him, surrounded by unused electronic parts and assembly tools, was what looked like a very large ancient Samurai warrior in dark blue armor. It was his latest creation, a masterpiece he had labored over during his time as a captive. Its metal frame was adorned with intricate engravings, and its joints moved with the grace and precision of a real warrior.
The man's hand trembled as he reached out to touch the warrior's helmet. At his touch, the warrior came to life. Its eyes, which had been dark and lifeless before, now glowed with an otherworldly light. The man's heart swelled with hope and hatred as he watched his creation stand and bow before him.
"I am yours to command, creator," the warrior said in a deep, robotic voice.
The man smiled. "Now, they will pay!"
For just an instant, Dr. Borcia's mind raced with memories of the pain and suffering he had endured since he had been captured by secret agents of Imperial Japan. His mad genius had been twisted and forced into creating a weapon of unprecedented mass destruction, supposedly motivated by their promise to release him when he was finished. But he knew better; either they would kill him or keep him as their captive slave until he died, always building newer and more powerful weapons.
So he had schemed and worked in secret. But now, he stood on the brink of his revenge. With a maniacal grin on his face, he whispered to himself, "The time for retribution is at hand. My Sapphire Samurai will indeed decimate the American war effort, laying waste to every factory in San Diego and eradicating their army and navy bases! But not at the command of Emperor Hirohito!” He laughed, silently. "Only I am the master of the Sapphire Samurai".
"Release me!" he ordered, and watched in awe and anticipation as his robotic creation stood tall and graceful, gleaming blue in the poorly lit lab. It smoothly drew its weapon, a katana longer than any human sword, and with one swift, fluid motion, sliced through the heavy chains holding him captive.
The Samurai was not the first robot he had built - he knew now that his prior creation, Najor, had been merely a prototype for what was to come. The Imperial spies had provided him with a towering suit of Samurai armor, looted many years ago from Japan for display in a decadent American museum, recently liberated by the agents for use towards a much higher purpose, forcing him to build his new robot in the ancient armor shell.
Every lesson learned from building Najor had guided his construction of the Sapphire Samurai. With careful precision and skill, he had worked tirelessly to create the ultimate engine of destruction. Through a secret process he had developed, he hardened the steel armor into a deep, rich shade of blue - a symbol of the Sapphire Samurai's strength and power. He had no doubt that it surpassed any expectations of his captors, and was more deadly than Najor had ever been.
His original plan was to have the robot destroy the top-secret facility housing the underground laboratory and eliminate the spies in one swift move. But he needed a new hideout that was hidden from the FBI and police - why not use this one?
As the agents frantically burst into the lab after they realized Dr. Borcia had been freed, the mad genius simply ordered “Kill them!” In a desperate attempt to escape, they frantically peppered the relentlessly approaching Sapphire Samurai with their pistols, but its impenetrable armor shrugged off every bullet. With lethal precision and lightning speed, the robot mercilessly swung its katana, severing the heads of both agents in two powerful sweeps of the blade.
After ordering the robot to dispose of the dead bodies, Dr. Borcia allowed himself a day of rest and recovery. It was the first proper meal he'd had in months, and he relished every bite. "Now for revenge!" he thought, as he sat behind the telewave device that allowed him to monitor and control the Sapphire Samurai as necessary. "First Colonel Corrigan, then Fort Rosecrans, and then the Naval Base! And when Dr. Diamond tries to interfere, my Sapphire Samurai will easily humiliate and then destroy him!"
At the flick of a switch, the robot's eyes lit up with a fierce blue glow, indicating it was ready for action. He sent it out towards the Fort, with orders to destroy everything in between, then settled back as the telewave showed him everything the robot saw. Dr. Borcia could hardly contain his glee. His revenge had only just begun! He deserved this power - he had endured seemingly endless torture as he had worked tirelessly for it. And now, he would use it to show the world his brilliance.
The Sapphire Samurai Strikes!
Dr. Drake Gordon (a.k.a. Dr. Diamond) and his assistant, Elena Garcia had been invited to lunch by Colonel Bull Corrigan, commander of Fort Rosecrans, the army base in San Diego, dining in a small cottage reserved for social uses of the Colonel. They were almost finished when the deafening crash of metal against metal erupted outside, jolting them from their seats. They raced to the door, bursting out to find chaos unfolding before their eyes - a massive blue robot tearing through the neighboring structure, a temporary building set up at the beginning of the war, with unstoppable force.
"My God! That must be the Sapphire Samurai robot!" Corrigan yelled. "We're heard rumors that it was about to be unleashed by Imperial spies! That's Captain Quinn's office!" It looked like it was too late to save Captain Quinn, though. The young officer had been a loyal aide de camp to Colonel Corrigan and was well-liked by everyone in the base.
The Sapphire Samurai turned towards them, into a withering hail of bullets. By now, dozens of soldiers were racing toward the battle, firing pistols and rifles. But all the bullets bounced off with no more effect than a gentle spring rain. The firing stopped as Dr. Diamond moved to confront the deadly automaton. For an instant, they were both motionless.
The robot struck first. With no warning, an armored arm swept around in a powerful backhand that Diamond was unable to dodge. The impact between the specially-treated steel and his diamond-hard body was loud enough to partially deafen anyone nearby, and it sent him flying across the courtyard, crashing into a nearby building. Instantly, the Samurai was charging towards him again with its massive katana raised high. Dr. Diamond pushed to his feet and raced forward, while the damaged building collapsed behind him. They came together like two speeding freight trains, with a tremendous noise louder than a small bomb that actually shattered some nearby windows! Both foes were jarred to a stop and they started brawling viciously. The clash of steel against diamond rang through the air as Dr. Diamond and the Sapphire Samurai traded blow after blow. Dr. Diamond could tell that the robot had only one goal - total destruction of everything around it, regardless of who tried to stop it.
Despite being outmatched in size, Dr. Diamond refused to back down. Summoning all his courage and stamina, he maneuvered around the robot's attacks and landed several precise hits on its vulnerable areas. Even though he was nearly invulnerable, blows from its fists and the katana were incredibly painful, but, so far at least, the robot wasn't doing permanent damage. And his own blows were finally showing results - The Samurai's left arm appeared to be almost totally disabled, and the right leg was stiff and no longer would bend at the knee. But just as he thought he might have a chance at defeating it, the Sapphire Samurai unleashed a powerful blast from its chest that sent him flying across the courtyard once again. He cashed halfway through the side of a cinderblock wall and slumped to the ground, dazed.
Elena screamed and raced frantically across the battlefield, planting herself between Dr. Diamond and the Sapphire Samurai. She raised her pistol and futilely emptied the clip as fast as she could pull the trigger, point blank. The bullets bounced in all directions, but the robot was unaffected. Though the once razor-sharp katana was now bent and dulled by impacts with Dr. Diamond's invulnerable frame, everyone knew Elena was doomed when the deadly Sapphire Samurai raised its above its head for the killing blow - but then suddenly froze in place!
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...
Dr. Borcia's anticipation had quickly turned to disappointment as he watched the battle unfold on his telewave, savoring the sounds of metal clanging against diamond which echoed through the Fort. Dr. Diamond's swift intervention had prevented the Sapphire Samurai from causing widespread destruction - only one building had lain in ruins when the battle began. And his supposedly invincible robot was not living up to expectations either. The once-impressive machine was slowly being reduced to a pile of scrap metal. With each passing moment, it seemed increasingly likely that Dr. Diamond would soon destroy it completely.
In the midst of the chaos, Dr. Borcia screamed in terror when a familiar figure appeared on the telewave screen - his beloved stepdaughter Elena. She had rushed onto the battlefield in a desperate attempt to protect Dr. Diamond. She stood bravely in front of the Sapphire Samurai, clearly no match for the towering engine of destruction she faced as she desperately unloaded her pistol at the metal monstrosity, but to no avail. Fear gripped Dr. Borcia's heart as he watched the robot lift its arm, ready to deliver a fatal blow to Elena. In anguished frenzy, he lunged towards the telewave and smashed the emergency STOP button with all of his might, praying it would be soon enough to save his daughter's life.
And then he almost fainted in relief when the screen showed that the Sapphire Samurai had stopped moving. Elena was safe!
Though the robot had come to an abrupt halt, the telewave's screen was still showing everything it could see. From out of range of the robot's vision, Borcia heard a commanding voice ring out. "Elena, run for your life! Get as far away as you can, in case it starts moving again!" He could see that instead of following those orders, she turned to see if Dr. Diamond needed assistance. The hero was slowly rising to his feet, his movements stiff and labored. With urgency in his expression, he gestured emphatically with a pointed finger. "Go!" He nodded with satisfaction as she finally ran out of the scene, then turned towards the group of soldiers approaching cautiously and shouted, "Colonel, keep everyone at a safe distance! I'm going to take this thing apart!" The atmosphere was tense as Dr. Diamond advanced alone to dismantle the menacing mechanical monstrosity.
A chilling cackle echoed through Dr. Borcia's lips. With a twisted leer on his face, he taunted the valiant Dr. Diamond on the screen: "You may have won THIS round, Dr. Diamond... but you haven't heard the last of me!" In a frenzy, he smashed another button on his telewave panel: "Boom!" he exclaimed mockingly. "Explosive self-destruct activated!"
What the Cat Drug In
As Dr. Diamond cautiously approached the inert Sapphire Samurai robot, Colonel Corrigan barked orders for everyone to quickly back away. The atmosphere was tense and thick with anticipation, no one sure what might happen next. Would the robot suddenly come back to life? Instead, without warning, it erupted in a deafening explosion. The force of the blast was immense, sending Dr. Diamond hurtling backwards through the air like a ragdoll. He tumbled and rolled until he finally came to a stop nearly 50 yards away, his body bruised and battered unconscious by the blast and the rough landing. Those who were closest to the explosion were also knocked off their feet, their bodies flung in different directions as shrapnel blasted everywhere. Screams and shouts filled the air as chaos broke out among the group. It was nearly 10 minutes before Dr. Diamond regained consciousness.
"I feel like what the cat drug in," Dr. Diamond groaned. He could feel his magical black diamond pendant pulsing, pumping magical healing energy into his body. "Even with your help,” he addressed the pendant directly, “the next few hours sure aren’t going to be a lot of fun!"
Shouts rang out nearby, where a group of men were frantically digging through the debris of the small temporary building which had once been Captain Quinn's office.
"They found him! He's alive, but he's stuck under his desk, buried under all this rubble!"
Ignoring the pain that shot through his body with every movement, Diamond gritted his teeth and slowly pushed himself up onto his feet. He hobbled over to the demolished building as best he could, wincing with each step. "I can help!" he called out as he approached the group of men frantically trying to clear away the rubble. Some of them tried to wave him away, but he was determined to lend a hand. With his powerful muscles and determination, they were able to swiftly move aside the debris and uncover Quinn, who lay barely conscious underneath his battered and partially collapsed desk.
The rescue team carefully pulled Quinn out from under the collapsed wreckage. His face was a canvas of cuts and bruises, his arm was hanging limply by his side at an unnatural angle and he gasped in agony as they gently lifted him enough to slide a stretcher under him. But despite his injuries, Quinn's eyes were still open. He managed to gasp his thanks as the base doctor injected him with morphine. Then, with a sigh of relief, he closed his eyes and gratefully let the drug carry him away into blessed unconsciousness.
The Real Mystery
After debriefing with Colonel Corrigan and his team, as well as Rear Admiral 'Hammerhead' Dupres and his staff from Naval Base San Diego, and investigators from the local FBI and Secret Service offices, Dr. Diamond was finally starting to feel like himself again. He and Elena were driving back to the Gordon Free Medical Clinic, where Dr. Drake Gordon (his civilian identity) and Dr. Elena Garcia provided free medical care for those in need.
"Can't help but thinking that Dr. Borcia was somehow involved in this," Drake said thoughtfully. "The Sapphire Samurai reminds me strongly of Nojor!"
"Even after all the evil my step-father has done, I've still been worried about him being missing for the last few months. Finding out he's behind this would almost be a relief," She gave a small shake of her head. "Almost, I said! What would REALLY be a relief to me is if he were to turn himself in!"
"If the Sapphire Samurai is really his invention, he must be working for Japan now," Drake mused.
But Elena quickly dismissed that idea, shaking her head more vigorously. "No way! He wants to rule the world himself. He would never work FOR the Emperor or anyone else in power. He'd pretend to cooperate and then betray them as soon as he got what he wanted." She continued after she saw him nod. "I sure am glad Captain Quinn is OK! he’s a really great guy and everyone likes him!"
"If Borcia is behind this, I wonder when we'll see him make another move? He won't stop until he succeeds or is captured. The real question is just how long will that take?" Drake pulled an envelope from his pocket and showed it to her with a grin. "And we still have this other big mystery to solve... What's in this envelope Colonel Corrigan gave me before lunch?"
Next Appearance of Dr. Diamond
The Greatest American Movie