Trent and Amelia catch up with Zik and help him out of the pile of boxes the giant Clonoid threw him into. So now what, guys? It’s time to come up with a plan! The good news is that Zoot has calculated a possible avenue to subdue the giant – electrical overload! Perhaps a massive shock will cut the giant Clonoid off from the central hub that all the Clonoids share information over, rendering it (hopefully) confused and unable to act independently. Zik has a way to make that happen!
Zik finds out he’s dreaming his encounter with Sensei Raven and Sensei Adam. Well, while he’s here, he’s going to pick their brains about how to defeat the giant Clonoid! His teachers tell him not to be intimidated by the sheer size and strength of the Clonoid. It has the same basic structure as any other human, and therefore the same basic weak points that can be exploited. And Raven reminds Zik of something that he can do that the Clonoid won’t: amp up his attacks with awesome move names! Zik leaves the Dojo, waking back up in reality to find Amelia and Trent racing towards him!
In case you didn’t see the blog on the previous page, Adam and Raven are real people that have helped me immensely in my journey to tell this story. Adam’s guidance with anatomy and Raven’s unwavering focus and audacity with his own comic have both been instructive to me as I take my artistic journey to become a better visual storyteller. Please take some time to check out their comics at Raven’s Dojo and Locus Comics! Both their creations are NSFW, but hey, we’re grown-ups. If you’re not a grown-up, maybe wait until you are before checking them out.
Trent finally catches up with Amelia, only to find her standing over the corpse of her erstwhile Clonoid jailer. They compare notes, and Amelia learns what all the commotion she’s been hearing is about. Shocked, she rushes off to help Zik and the others! The prisoner has become the rescuer!
Amelia rips the antenna right out of the Clonoid’s head! It falls backward, tripping over the guard railing and down to the factory floor. The second Clonoid receives orders to kill Amelia and starts to open the door! But Amelia is ready for it! With a mighty kick and a shove, she beats her way through the door and confronts the dazed Clonoid with the shelf she ripped from the wall. Bringing the shelf down on its head, she ends its miserable semblance of a life! This is one damsel that’s not in any distress!
I tried something new with Amelia’s hair… let me know in the comments if you like it!
Meanwhile, Amelia has been busy! With all the commotion going on downstairs with the riot, maybe now is a good time to escape. She rips a shelf right off the wall and uses it to start breaking the door handle! She’s interrupted by some Clonoids at the door, but the ever-adaptable Amelia hatches a new plan – one that hinges on the antenna in the Clonoid’s head!
Zik is flung into the factory wall, denting it in the process! What a kick! Good thing he has body armor, although according to Zoot it has taken some damage! Zik gets ready as the Clonoid charges — the fight is on! He blocks a mighty punch and returns with one of his own, but the Clonoid grabs his arm and flings him like a rag doll into a pile of boxes! Zik is unconscious! Oh no!
Trying to monopolize this big guy’s attention, Zik starts up some mildly insulting banter. He has a point, though: despite all the muscles, there’s literally nothing to interest the ladies back on Zoz! I guess that’s not why Queen Elcyra has them around. The Clonoid is only too happy to engage Zik directly, and even finishes his sentence for him!
Zik and Trent try the first, obvious solution: fill the massive Clonoid with bullets! This guy has incredibly thick skin, it seems, so he’s able to simply brush the bullets off and drop them to the floor. Zik decides that guns are of no further use, so he hands his to Trent and tells him to go find Amelia. Zik wants to take this guy on alone?!
WHO LET THE AVENGERS INTO THIS STORY? Oh, wait, that’s a Clonoid! That’s the new one that arrived and was here to get fitted for a uniform! Queen Elcyra has bred a new Super Soldier Clonoid!
Things are going well in this riot! The drones are easily dispatched, and there are far fewer soldier Clonoids. Trent points the way to where Amelia is being held captive.
Meanwhile, a trio of prisoners decides to try their luck with a doorway to a restricted area. It’s locked, but something busts its way through! What is happening?!
