Zik has an apology to make to Amelia; he never intended for this riot to happen! All he wanted to do was negotiate for her release from prison, not cause a riot that ended in the factory explosion and the mass murder of a couple hundred people! Zik and Amelia look deeply into each others eyes… when suddenly a rock smashes into Zik’s head! The Clonoid Super Soldier has chucked a chunk of rubble at Zik, crushing his helmet! Zik tells Amelia to get herself and Trent to safety, and readies himself to finish this battle once and for all!

A shocked Amelia charges towards the factory, not believing that almost everyone she knows has just perished. Coughing, Zik emerges from the gloom and consoles her as well as he can. The reality is that the firebombs inside the factory that preceded the demolition would have immolated anyone inside. No one could survive that… or could they?

Zik and Amelia deposit the unconscious Trent a safe distance from the factory, and Zik announces his intention to go back inside to stop the riot. But as he opens the door, he makes a chilling discovery: the Clonoid super soldier survived its electrocution! It’s back to create more havoc for the prisoners! Meanwhile, as she hurtles through space towards the prison planet, Queen Elcyra receives the news that the Clonoid cybernetic network can no longer detect the super soldier; communications with it has been severed. Also, the other Clonoids have reported that Zik is escaping. Elcyra has had enough, it’s time to level the building!

With the Clonoid Super-Soldier out of the way, Zik and Amelia rush to Trent’s side to see if he’s okay. As it turns out, he’s merely unconscious, breathing normally and without anything broken. Thank goodness! Zik starts carrying Trent out of harm’s way. He and Amelia share their amazement that their audacious trap actually worked! Zik tells Amelia that he’s only lightly hurt, and that his body armor took the brunt of the damage. He’s just relieved that he won’t have to face that monster again! Or will he??

The catwalk collapses under the Clonoid, and down it goes! Straight into the water tank beneath it! Amelia calls out to Trent to turn on the power, and for a moment, it looks like he can’t do it! But he manages to hit the panel just before falling unconscious. Has he hit the right switch? That humming sound is encouraging, but is it the right thing?

Amazingly, Zik gets back up! It takes more than an exploding oxygen tank to keep our hero down. A relieved Amelia, noticing that Trent is also still alive, tosses the power cable into the now-open water tank. Meanwhile Zik taunts the Clonoid with a line from Lord Of The Rings! No, Clonoid, YOU SHALL NOT PASS! Slamming the pole onto the catwalk as hard as he can, Zik hears a satisfying CRACK! as the catwalk gives way…

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I hope you have a fun time tonight, whatever your plans are. Stay safe if you’re out trick or treating! Oh, and don’t dress up (or down) as a giant, naked Clonoid Supersoldier; you’ll probably get arrested.

Amelia hits the Emergency Open button on the tank control panel, opening the top of the tanks! But now she notices that Zik has gotten hurt! The Clonoid supersoldier is busy inspecting his badly singed hand as Zik falls back. Meanwhile, the Clonoid drone has picked up a blaster and zaps Trent right in the chest! A double whammy of deep trouble for our heroes!

Amelia hustles over to the power conduit and unplugs it from the main panel. Meanwhile, Trent is doing his best to help his fellow prisoners with the Clonoid soldiers. But he runs out of ammo, just as a Clonoid drone reaches for a dropped blaster! Zik attacks the Clonoid supersoldier with a fallen guard rail, but it’s ready for him- it grabs Zik and tries to decapitate him! Unbeknownst to the Clonoid, that isn’t a decorative shoulder pad. It’s an oxygen tank, and it explodes when the Clonoid crushes it! Is Zik OK?

Boom! The Clonoid Supersoldier comes crashing down on the catwalk, breaking off a support bracket in the process! The catwalk is now split in two along that seam! The falling bracket briefly distracts Trent, who goes right back to sniping Clonoid soldiers. Meantime, Amelia has gotten to the top of the ladder on her catwalk, and is close to the electrical panel. Zik kicks another support pole out from the side of the catwalk, destabilizing it further, while the Clonoid Supersoldier struggles to get up and the riot rages on below.

Welcome to the new Zik fans that have been reading through the archives! Feel free to join in the comments, don’t be shy!

Here are some more of my favorite comics, in case you’re looking for something cool to read until next Tuesday:

• Mailbox Rocketship by Kevin Hayman – high school superheros!
• The Ruins Of Hesh’Imet by Richard Wallace – NSFW post-apocalyptic action with an ancient-Egyptian overlay!
• Macoatl by Ruy Fernandez – Crazy cartoons set in pre-colonial Mexico!

Trent decides that while he’s waiting at the power switch, he may as well knock off some Clonoids! Meanwhile, Amelia runs to a ladder and climbs up to the power conduits. Zik is up on the catwalk, and he catches another mighty punch, then ignites his E.V.R. rockets to deliver a huge blow to the torso! The Clonoid is flipped right up and over from the force of the impact!

Wow, lots happening on this page! I hope it makes sense! Zik is finally holding his own against this behemoth; let’s hope it lasts!

For everyone helping out with voting for Zik at topwebcomics.com: thank you! We’re hovering around the 200 rank, which is pretty good! Let’s see how high we can push it before the month ends! Vote once per day at this link!

Also, during the days when Zik isn’t updating, try these comics out:

• Locus, Silk And Honey, Locus: Godslayer and Tears Of The Dragon, all by Adam Black, are all one epic story of monsters and parallel universes (NSFW)
• Raven’s Dojo by Raven Perez – puns, perverts and pandemonium! (NSFW)
• Hominids by Jordan Kotzebue

I’ll link to more comics in the future, but for now, these will keep you really busy! All three are great long-form comics with riveting stories.