The Stone Gods

The Stone Gods

Wester Island (named for Horatio Wester, the English buccaneer who "discovered" it) is a small volcanic island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Much like its more famous neighbor Easter Island, Wester Island is the home to large monumental statues called moai. Though the origins of the Easter Island moai are understood by scholars today, those on the long-uninhabited Wester Island were unexplained until recently.

Due to its remoteness, Wester Island seemed like an ideal spot for some much-needed R&R to the Invincible Alliance. After securing the proper authorizations for their getaway, the quirky quintet piled into one of their Zip Jets and made the trek to what they hoped would be a quiet vacation. Fate, however, had other plans for our intrepid heroes.

The IA had scarcely settled in on the beach for what was intended as a week of tranquility when the tremors began. Suddenly, there was a roar from a nearby volcano! By sheer chance, or just dumb luck (?), the Invincible Alliance happened to be on the very isle where a Volcano Monster was emerging from the earth. They collectively groaned, though all of them prepared to do their duty and stop any rampages.

This particular Volcano Monster was a shaman who produced a sacred torch Blue Behemoth derisively dubbed "his lava lamp." There were no jokes when the witch doctor shook the torch and eerie vibrations emanated from the flames. To the disbelieving eyes of the Invincible Alliance, the giant stone heads of Wester Island came to life and pulled themselves from the ground, revealing powerful bodies beneath them. These moai were the ancient Stone Gods of the Volcano Monsters, and they had just been awakened from their deep slumber!

The Invincible Alliance sprang into action. Blue Behemoth and Firegirl tackled what seemed to be the biggest of all the monoliths and held it at bay as best they could. Drone Man and Ultimate American chose another, though Ulti having DM drop him onto their opponent's head did nothing when the goliath shrugged him off like he was an insect. Only Elektroid held back. There were too many other Stone Gods to fight, and the odds of his team beating back all of them seemed slim. They needed to address this problem at its source.

As stealthily as a robot can manage, Elektroid navigated a mine field of rock giants to get closer and closer to his target - the Volcano Monster shaman. When he was finally as near as he dared, he unleashed one of the devastating electrical bolts from his artificial brain. The sacred torch was shattered! With the last residual magic left in the air, the Stone Gods clambered to their original resting places and were restored as mere inert idols. The Volcano Monster retreated into the depths of liquid magma that was the home of his race. The world (and the Invincible Alliance's vacation) was saved!

His teammates were very grateful to Elektroid for winning the day. Firegirl made a point of cooing over him after she had changed into her bikini, and Blue Behemoth couldn't even find it within himself to be jealous. Drone Man and Ultimate American lavished praise on the metal man for his quick thinking. As he soaked it all in, Elektroid's mechanical heart swelled with pride. For a robot who wasn't even sure if he belonged in the human world, Wester Island had turned into the best vacation ever.


THE END


*EDITOR'S NOTE: Based on a title by Wandering Kotka. This public domain photo at Wikimedia Commons was used in the creation of this picture.