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[b]”The Ranchero of Miracle Mesa” - Glitter And Gold: Part Three[/b]

[center][i]“The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.”[/i][/center]
[center][indent]-Anonymous[/indent][/center]
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[indent][b]Warpath, Texas[/b][/indent]
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The creature slammed into the hay bales like a torpedo sending up plumes of straw up and over the barn. It’d be a heckuva thing to explain that to Ms. Hart once she -- Vig straightened up and tightened his grip on his pistol, heading for the cart of hay. The wheels of the cart had exploded into splinters like a homemade hand grenade. He’d probably be pullin’ the shrapnel out of his neighbor’s paint jobs for weeks. Not to mention re-siding a coupla houses. Like he didn’t have enough chores already. Hopefully the alien feller would repay him for the happy landing by not trying to blow his got damn head off.

The thing didn’t much look like he expected. As the thing rolled out of the trailer and smacked into the ground with a metallic ‘thunk’, Vig sized it up, other hand already getting ready to draw his second weapon. It looked something like a man all wrapped up in some kinda blue carapace, like a big ol’ beetle had done swallowed him up. It was a weird mesh of hard angles and edges, but with smooth plates connecting it all. Definitely not of this world, but by Greg’s measure, not really pointy enough to be demonic, neither. Still didn’t mean it wasn’t hostile. Those thrusters it was using looked mighty big, enough to blow him clean apart if he wasn’t careful.

[quote=@Superboy]
[color=7ea7d8]"Don't- don't freak out, I'm not gonna hurt ya."[/color]
[/quote]

Vig took a step back. Damn him if it didn’t sound human. He, er, it, sounded mighty young and mighty wounded. Like some teenager had gotten ‘imself into all kinds of trouble. It held its hands up and Vig could practically see it wince under the armor. It had to be hurtin’ mighty bad, and it didn’t seem like it was trying to kill him. Least not yet. Vig holstered his pistols and stared out at the thing from under the brim of his hat, 

[quote=@Superboy]
[color=7ea7d8]"Thanks for, uh, helpin' me out back there. My name's..."[/color]
[/quote]

This kid, uh, thing, had to be human… Right? There was something to the quality of its voice, something real. Fact of the matter, he didn’t sound much unlike the Bounty… Vig swallowed. Whoever or whatever this kid was, he seemed in a bad way. The front of his armor was scuffed and damned if Vig couldn’t hear he was draggin’ something awful. He didn’t sound much unlike Vig did when he finally clawed his way out of Hell, just ready for some damn sleep. But he seemed… Distracted by something on the Horizon.

In that moment, The Spirit of Vengeance exploded across his brain all at once. It was like a fire alarm blasting in his eardrum. It wasn’t quite like anything he’d ever felt from it before. It wasn’t panic and it wasn’t anger it was… It was [i]confusion[/i].

“[i]Let me ouuuuuttt![/i]” It hissed. It seemed to spread over and dig into Vig’s mind, trying to wrest control. Vig fought and snapped his head around. He ground his teeth and focused on what he was seeing, refusing to let The Spirit in. Whatever the hell the kid said next fell on deaf ears.

The man before him stood on the far edge of town. He felt in the depths of his soul that it was a [i]man[/i], no creature or devil. But it was… [i]Tainted[/i] by something. Some swirling, black-and-silver-and-gold power permeated his form, flowing up and down his veins and into the depths of his very being. He was an eight foot slab of muscle, wrapped head to toe in a black fabric that covered everything but his lower face and his eyes. His skin seemed almost green in the moonlight, and his eyes were dark and unreadable, seeming to suck all the light around them in.
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[quote=@Superboy]
[color=7ea7d8]"I think you need to go. I dunno who this guy is, but he looks like trouble."[/color]
[/quote]

[color=#f92a0e]”I’m no stranger to danger, pardner. Just stay behind me, and get ready for… For something.”[/color] Vig could feel The Spirit pressing against the back of his eyeballs, like it was jockeying for a glance at the the man. The Spirit seemed to be struggling to quantify it. It was poisoned with an aura of death that sweltered about it, but at its core it was… It was a man. [i]Just[/i] a man. Like any other. Vig took note that The Spirit was real quiet on the subject of the alien kid.

[color=#f92a0e]”We don’t take much kind to strangers who don’t introduce themselves ‘around here, pardner.”[/color] Vig pulled both of his guns and sighted up for center mass. The thing stood mighty close to the town’s walls, where Vig had left some leftover explosive from his time with Frank. If things went south, maybe he could tag a coupla those and end a fight before it starts.

[color=#B2CC50]”[i]Vigilante[/i]. In a way, I simply [i]must[/i] thank you. Without you, I never would’ve gotten this opportunity”[/color] Vig could tell from his lips that the man spoke soft, but he could feel the reverberating bass of the man’s words in his bones.

[color=#B2CC50]”They call me Black Star. The Surfer sends his regards. Goodbye.”[/color] The man moved faster than Vig could react. Vig’s first shot went wild and Black Star became a blur, dashing to a nearby house. He wrenched out one of the porch’s support beams, ignoring the shots that Vig was planting in him. He turned back to Vig and cracked a smile. He threw threw the beam like a javelin at what musta been a million miles an hour.

[color=#f92a0e]“MOVE!”[/color] Vig shouted, shoving the kid to one side and diving to the other, firing as he landed in the dust. [color=#f92a0e]“Git to cover! I’ll handle this!”[/color] Vig rolled on his belly as another beam sailed over his head. He’d already emptied one pistol, and the opponent didn’t seem to be slowing down at all.

“[i]Let me fight it![/i]” The Spirit hissed in his head. It was smashing against every mental barrier it could find, trying to worm its way to the surface and attack whatever force surrounded the man before them. Trying to keep it under was like wrestling a bucking bronco. Vig rolled to his feet and fanned the hammer of his weapon. Black Star laughed; now he was throwing head-sized chunks of ceiling and fence post like ballistic missiles. Vig swore and tossed aside his spent guns. He only had the one belt on him when he went to help the kid. Time to improvise.

Vig pulled his lariat from his side and whipped at the dirt and sand, stoking up clouds of dust. He swatted it away from his eyes and rolled, avoiding another round of ballistics. Hopefully the smokescreen would make them hard to hit for long enough for him to at least get the alien-feller to cover.