Strange Magi, Strange Gifts <by ElrodW Christmas in Joel's home city is worse than bad. Post-apocalyptic conditions prevail because of a very dangerous bio-weapon released in the city. Things are grim — and Christmas is going to be a casualty. However, when Joel wishes he could do something, he has a strange encounter with three very strange Magi, and he receives gifts to help stop the contagion and save the holidays — but there are always complications. Many, many thanks to Megan for helping turn a simple concept for an image into something very nice for the story. Hugs for your help. And thanks to the volunteers who suffered through the first drafts to help get this story edited. Now - enjoy. Merry Christmas. [email protected]

Copyright © 2013 ElrodW
All Rights Reserved.

The Maiden of Bronze

Chapter 5 Part 3

Doc Savage and Pat Savage are the Property of Street and Smith. Introducing a future time line inspired by Doc Savage.

By: Desiree

I am most Grateful to The Twins, Rae and Jess as they have done wonders for their Mothers.

The life of a physicist can be troubling, at times, as the universe doesn't always play well with others.

But even the universe can't break a true promise.

A mob hit man, who decides to go straight, is the intended victim of a hit. The hit goes wrong, and an innocent girl is badly injured by mistake. He feels guilty — if he hadn't been where he was, she wouldn't be in a coma in the hospital. He ducks another hit attempt, and finds himself in Madam Zelda's shop. She gives him a medallion to protect the girl's life. When he's attacked again, the power of the medallion works, and he wakes up.

This story is dedicate to a friend, Light of Fury. She's not writing, but she was keeping in touch, until she got some new adventure / distraction. I enjoyed working with her on a wide variety of stories, and conversing off and on. She made me think about my preconceived notions. (For an old fart, Pink isn't a bad singer!) I miss her, and wish her peace on whatever she does.

Note: There are some theological references to Heaven and Hell (mostly Heaven) in this story. There is also some reference to the Catholic faith, because a church plays a vital part of the story, and the girl's family isn't Catholic. If you're offended, I apologize. It's just a story. I hope you enjoy it. Also please note that 'conversations' with Tina are all italicized in an attempt to make them more distictive; otherwise, it could get confusion. If I missed one, please PM me and I'll fix it.

[email protected]

A man finds a strange alien device, and after tinkering a bit, discovers that it allows him to change his body. He comes up with a great idea to get back at a friend.

NOTE: This is a repost of a story from another site. This is the original MAU story, and as such, some background info is included in the prologue.

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The Maiden of Bronze

Chapter 5 Part 1

Doc Savage and Pat Savage are the Property of Street and Smith. Introducing a future time line inspired by Doc Savage.

By: Desiree

I am most Grateful to my Beloved Jasmine as she has been a most wonderful muse.
I am probably being over cautious on my Cautions, but due to my psychological Condition my views are probably a lot warped compared to most other people. Love and Light to You All.

Deep within my dreams, I heard keys jingling and being inserted into the door, slowly the handle was being turned. I realized then that it wasn't a dream and in reality, Ray was finally returning home. The predicament that I was in never even crossed my mind, when the door swung open and Ray walked in holding two bags. I could hear him setting the groceries down in the kitchen, then with a sleigh-bell like sound, dropped his keys onto the counter.

"It's just me!" He yelled out, I could hear him come around the corner as I began to get my wits about me. Suddenly, I felt panic as I realized that he would see me dressed and looking like his wife! What would he think when he saw me? I panicked, trying to get up from the chair.

"Hey Alex, I hope you don't mind Chinese, I stopped at a litt..." He froze, short of the living room. "Angel? My God, but... but how?" He said as he looked from me to his tiny daughter.

This is the second story of the trilogy...

The small car came to a stop as the passenger window rolled halfway down, "You need a lift?" I bent over and looked at the driver for a full five seconds before opening up the door and stepping in.

It was raining pretty steadily now and it didn't look like it would let up any time soon, so I figured what the heck. "Thanks, I was getting a bit soggy walking out there." I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone else saw me climb into the car, no one else was around, just me and the guy. That's when I heard a tiny sound behind me causing me to look over my shoulder: it was a very young infant in a car seat.

The man noticed me looking at the child and smiled, "Do you like babies?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Sure, they're okay."

"We're heading to Nordstrom, Connecticut, ever hear of it?" He asked trying to make small talk.

I shook my head. "I've been all over the East Coast, but never there." I looked back toward the little one strapped into the seat, "Boy or girl?"

"Girl." He said without looking.

We drove on for a few miles, "Your daughter's cute."

He smiled, "Yeah... uh... she looks like her mother."

The Maiden of Bronze

Chapter 4 Part 2

Doc Savage and Pat Savage are the Property of Street and Smith. Introducing a future time line inspired by Doc Savage.

By: Desiree

I'm most Grateful to my Beloved Jasmine as she has and always will be my most wonderful muse.