SEPTEMEBER 11, 1861

The "Devil" Texan
by Michael Quebec
Original characters created by Ella Davis and Michael Quebec
Alias Smith and Jones and related characters were created by Glen Larson
The Lone Ranger and related characters were created by
Fran Striker and George W. Trendle

Prologue:  Early evening, the jails within Fort Laramie.

Joshua hadn’t found the Lone Ranger, but had run into Tonto and his confined prisoner heading to Fort Laramie, so he joined them. As Sheriff Trevors was about to leave the fort, his friend, Joshua, and an Indian came riding in.

The half-caste spy from Cavendish's camp, the one known by the Plains Tribes as "Man Between Two Worlds", was brought into the jail, two camp guards bringing him in, trussed up and unconscious.

As the guards lay the spy on the cot, Tonto, along with both Joshua and the recovering sheriff, Lom Trevors, who had his left arm in a cast due to his injuries, came inside the jail cell. Carrington was with them.

Carrington said, "This is the man who's been supplying the Indians with guns. Tonto just brought him in. You think your deputies can track down the traders who got the guns to Cavendish?"

"As soon as I recover, Colonel, I'll personally track down these scum," replied Trevors.

"Might not be soon enough," replied Carrington. "Doctor says you shouldn't even be up, right now, sheriff, but you insisted-."

Trevors cut in, "I got my dander up, Colonel!  I don't take kindly to being shot at or having an arrow in me. Anger is my best medicine!"

Carrington turned to Joshua, "Josh, I'll need you to help the sheriff here coordinate his investigations."

Joshua said to Trevors, "Guess you'll have to swear me in, sheriff."

Tonto turned to Carrington, "Sir, we have very little time. My brother's life is in danger.   And the lieutenant's troop column will soon be upon the Sioux camp. Your men and the Sioux will wipe each other out if this war isn't stopped!"

Carrington nodded in agreement. To one of the guards, he ordered, "Ready my horse!"   To Tonto, Carrington said, "We'll have to ride out there together and stop the lieutenant before the first shot is fired! Pray we'll get there in time!"

Night, the valley entrance to the Lakota camp

Writhing around the valley entrance to Sitting Bull's camp, like some great, blue snake, came the soldiers of Fort Laramie.

Even in the darkness, the spurs, sabers, and especially, the carbines of the blue coats, flashed in the moonlight.

To the Sioux warriors, crouched behind the rocks and bushes of the valley with their hatchets, their bows and arrows, and their newly acquired breech loaders from Little Big Man, the flashes of light from the blue coats' weapons, reminded them of the mirror flashes that other tribes used to signal one another...when attacking an enemy.

The young lieutenant at the head of the column, the "Indian hater", raised his hand, ordering the column to halt.

He looked up and around, seeing the valley walls, feeling them closing in around him and his troop. He saw the many rocks, boulders, and bushes. Though he couldn't see nor hear any Indians, he knew they were there, somewhere, ready to shoot down upon his troop column.

"Bring up the field piece!" the lieutenant's voice boomed.

Slowly, four of the troopers dismounted and pushed up the artillery field piece, a small cannon on wheels.

"Where do you want her, sir?"

The lieutenant looked around.

Pointing to a ridge with several boulders, he said, "Right there. Perfect spot for them cowardly savages to shoot down."

"That's what they think, huh lieutenant?"

The lieutenant said nothing. He simply turned around towards the ridge, ready to coldly look on at his upcoming handiwork.

Behind the natural protective breastworks of the boulders was Crazy Horse, along with five of his best warriors.

"Tushunka Witko!" whispered American Horse, Crazy Horse's trusted friend. "The boulders will protect us from the soldiers' bullets, but not from cannon."

"Then I'll make sure that the cannon will not fire."

Crazy Horse raised his rifle and slowly unlatched the gun sight on top of the rifle. Closing his left eye, his right eye sighted the young lieutenant.

The young lieutenant raised his hand, giving the ready signal for his men to fire the cannon.

Crazy Horse made ready to squeeze the trigger.

The lieutenant made ready for his men to fire.

"Halt! You men, halt there!"

Galloping in at a furious pace came Tonto, riding Scout so hard that the dust could be seen from the pony's hooves, even in the dark of night.

Trailing behind Tonto and Scout came two other riders.

The first was Colonel Carrington, head of Fort Laramie.

The second was the trussed up, captured sergeant of the Lucky Strike Mines, Man Who Walks Between Two Worlds.

Crazy Horse, lowered his rifle and motioned for the other warriors with him to hold off.

The young lieutenant, however, was furious. He wanted to launch the cannon.

"What the hell is this?!"

"I order you to halt!" repeated Carrington.

"You've gone native, Colonel?" retorted the lieutenant. Referring to Tonto, the lieutenant continued, "Just 'cause this...servant...works for that so-called 'government agent' a yours, don't give him the right to-."

Carrington turned to Tonto, nodding with his head, for Tonto to cut off the lieutenant's tirade. Tonto grabbed Man Who Walks Between Two Worlds by the shoulder and yanked the tied and gagged prisoner off of his horse. The half-caste criminal fell with a large "thud" at the lieutenant's feet.

Tonto said, "That man is a spy, working to set the Sioux and the whites at the fort, against each other." Tonto, still mounted on Scout, trotted over to the lieutenant. Leaning towards the young officer, Tonto whispered, "Don't want to take any 'orders' from 'injuns', lieutenant? This man right here is half Sioux. You continue this senseless fight, you'll be doing exactly what this 'injun' wants."

From atop the ridge, Crazy Horse and the other warriors looked on, waiting to see what the soldiers would do.

The lieutenant backed off.

Referring to the half-breed captive, Carrington then ordered the lieutenant, "Take two men with you and take this man back to post!"

Reluctantly, the lieutenant saluted Carrington, then turned and motioned to two soldiers to pick up Man Who Walks Between Two Worlds.

Tonto turned to Carrington, referring to the Lone Ranger, he said,   "From what my brother and I have gathered about the force at the Lucky Strike, even with all of your soldiers and their weapons, we'd stand little chance...without additional help."

Carrington looked towards the valley where the Sioux warriors were hidden, then nodded his approval.

Slowly trotting Scout towards the hidden Sioux, Tonto raised his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Kiowa makes himself to be the white man's running dog", said American Horse.

Crazy Horse, however, motioned for his good friend to lower his gun.

"You all know me! I am Tonto, sworn blood brother of the one who rides the silver horse and head of the Broken Lance Society of Warriors of the Kiowa people! Though the Sioux and the Kiowas were once enemies, you know my words to be true! A new enemy, a common enemy, has set the blue coats at the fort and the Sioux against each other! I know the Sioux...and possibly, all the Red Men of the Plains will someday have to fight the blue coats. But that day has not come yet. This new enemy, with his strange and magical weapons, will lay waste to Mother Earth, in ways that no blue coat could even imagine!"

Crazy Horse listened attentively to Tonto's words.

Tonto continued, "The Sioux pride themselves on being the fiercest warriors upon Mother Earth! You also pride yourselves on your freedom. Do you wish to follow the will of this new enemy?"

Crazy Horse hesitated, then looked to the other warriors. He then stood up, making himself visible on the ridge. He raised his hand and waved to Tonto and the soldiers, signaling that the proposed fight would not be.

Tonto waved back, then turned to Carrington and nodded.

Crazy Horse looked to the other warriors hidden in the rocks. "The Lakota fight for their own purposes."

Butch Cavendish's underground lair within the Lucky Strike Camp

"Follow me if you dare, detective!"

Cavendish baited the Masked Man before running out of the room.

The Masked Man looked on, tempted to give chase to the murderer of his brother.

Then he came to his senses. The Masked Man looked back to the viewscreen. 

Link, Sim, Jones, Justin, and the rest of the prisoners were about to be executed.

The Masked Man had to think fast. He studied the control board underneath the viewscreen.

Cavendish's control board, a mish mash of blinking lights, shiny brass knobs, and whirring, buzzing, and beeping sounds that could confuse any of the greatest minds of the Nineteenth Century.

Almost any.

The honed mind of the Masked Man studied the board at a furious pace. He knew that the only hope of saving the men was to create some kind of distraction, something to give the captives time, no matter how brief.

A red knob with the two Greek symbols, "Alpha/Omega" caught the eye of the Masked Man.

"Some kind of alert symbol in case of emergencies", he thought to himself.

The Masked Man pressed the red button...and hoped...

*********************************************************

The captain of the guard raised his saber high.

The organizers of the would be escapees stood erect upon the wide metal walkway overlooking the camp, while the guards in front of them, barely a few feet in front of the captives, aimed their rifles, ready to fire at point blank range.

"Aim!"

Sim closed his eyes, awaiting an agony that he knew must come.

The captain was now ready to bring down his saber, signaling the fatal shots.

At that moment, the piercing screams of rockets rang out in the night air, followed by the thunderous "booms" of explosions, shattering the dread silence of the execution.

White light shone upon the black night and the multi-colored shards of sparks made the sky appear as if it were the scene of a Fourth of July celebration.

*********************************************************

Tonto, Carrington, and Crazy Horse, led the uneasy alliance of Sioux and Blue Coats towards the Lucky Strike Mines when the fireworks caught their eyes in the distance.

"What in blazes?" exclaimed Carrington.

"The mines. C'mon, Colonel!" shouted Tonto, as he whipped Scout into a charge.

The soldiers followed, then Crazy Horse called out to his warriors as he readied his pony to pursue, "Follow my brothers! We may have a fight yet! Tonka Hey! It is a Good Day To Die!"

*********************************************************

One of the Lucky Strike guards went to the officer and said, "The alert signal." 

The officer, still with his saber held high, was staring up at the pyrotechnic display, distracted momentarily from his grim job.

Link, however, was not. "This is our chance, boys!"

As one, Link, Sim, Jones, Justin, and all of the captives, white and Indian alike, fell upon the guards, using their hands, their feet, and their indomitable will to live, against the better armed, but dumbstruck guards.

The shock of so many determined men falling upon them drove the guards back. The momentum was with the captives as Jones and Link led the others to potential victory...and freedom.

The captain of the prison's guard, panic and desperation gripping him, ordered to his second in command, "The tower! Order the men to fire the Gatling gun!"

"We'll hit our own men, sir!"

"Order it, goddamn it!"

The second ran, towards the tower and waved to the two men at the top, manning the Gatling gun.

The gunners took aim, ready to crank the machine gun.

The tower suddenly exploded with a loud "boom", spraying shards of metal and wooden debris.

It was hit by a cannon ball.

*********************************************************

The blue coats and the mounted Sioux warriors were a yard away from the Lucky Strike mines and prison camp, ready to charge.

"Direct hit, colonel," said Tonto. "Glad to see that thing of yours is being used for other purposes than shelling Indian camps."

"We're precise when we have to be, Tonto. Science and progress." Carrington then looked to Tonto, implying a prediction as to the fate of the Indians at the hands of the whites. "You can't stop progress, Tonto. Those who don't go with it will be cast aside."

"Maybe we can save the politics for later, Colonel," replied Tonto. "The Sioux are waiting to do their job."

Carrington looked over his shoulder to his second in command, who sat on his mount, saber ready.

The second then looked to Crazy Horse.

With a war whoop, Crazy Horse then led his warriors into a charge.

*********************************************************

The furious hand-to-hand fighting in the fort continued.

Jones and Link were grappling with two soldiers, taking their rifles from them.

The gates of the fort were blown apart by another cannon ball, spraying more wooden debris into the air.

The guards that Jones and Link were fighting with ran off.

"What the hell?" asked Jones.

"Looks like the cavalry came in time," said Link.

"Better look again," said Jones. "That ain't the cavalry."

Whooping and hollering, the Sioux warriors charged into the camp, cleaving the tops of the guards’ heads with their hatchets and spearing other guards with their lances.

*********************************************************

"Sabers!" shouted out Carrington.

The blue coats had their sabers all drawn.

"Are we gonna let them red savages have the glory of this fight, boys?!"

"Hell no, sir!" shouted out the blue coats in response to Carrington's playful query.

Carrington laughed, looked to Tonto, who had his tomahawk drawn, then shouted out, "Charge!"

The blue coats, sabers pointed, charged their horses into the fort.

*********************************************************

Looking intensely at Cavendish's electronic viewscreen, The Masked Man smiled.

The prisoners were safe.

Looking around, the masked Man saw his pistols and gun-belt, lined with the silver bullets, hung on the wall like a trophy for Cavendish to gloat over.

The Masked Man took the gun-belt and re-armed himself.

Now, he could settle with Cavendish in his own way.

*********************************************************

The reactor room, the vast underground complex of whirring and buzzing gigantic, metallic monstrosities, shown with green hue of radioactivity.

Cavendish came running in. Pressing a button on the side of the huge reactor, a hidden control panel slowly unfolded with a whir.

Pressing another button on the panel, Cavendish caused a blinding flash of white light to open up in the middle of the room.

It was like a door, a door composed of pure energy. It cracked and boomed and the air smelled of burning fumes. Only, there were no fumes, just cracks of electricity, like thunder, coming from the door.

Cavendish was then about to press a second button when the Masked Man came running in.

"Cavendish!"

"Ah, detective. No doubt, you have found a way to bring your friends from the fort to aid you in freeing your friends. The signal rockets no doubt? I congratulate you."

"It's over, Cavendish. You're for the hangman's noose, mister!"

"I don't think so. Have you guessed what I've been doing here?"

"An old theory, handed down from the writings of the ancient scholars of the Middle East," said the Masked Man. "If you split the smallest particle of the smallest bit of matter, an unimaginable force of energy will be released."

"You're an educated man, detective. It was merely a theory, put forth by ancient alchemists of the Middle Ages. But, I have made it a reality through the sheer genius of science!"

"If you are able to do just that, then you know that everything for miles will be wiped out. No escape. Somehow, you don't strike me as the type who would just give it all up."

The Masked Man then looked to the crackling, bright, door of light.

"I've mastered yet another feet of science, detective. I can never truly loose. Call it insurance."

Cavendish then started adjusting some knobs on the control panel...knobs with numbers, dates, on them.

The Masked Man looked at the door of light. Squinting and straining his eyes underneath the mask, he could see events.  

Men and women wearing strange clothing and riding around in even stranger machines, machines such as "carriages"...but carriages without horses and emitting smoke and fumes from the rear, that is what the Masked Man could make out in the door.

In the door of light, the Masked Man saw a leader of what appeared to be a European nation, his right arm raised forward, looking over what was obviously an army on the march; an army with metal vehicles that had a cannon protruding from the front. This leader was a slightly built man, with a dark hair parted to the side and a small moustache over his lip. On his arm, was an insignia, a twisted "x." 

To the Masked Man, trained by Chinese Tong enforcers in the ways of the Eastern fighting disciplines, the insignia looked like the Buddhist "Manji", a sign of benevolence and good luck. But this insignia pointed in the opposite direction. And the leader of this European nation appeared to be anything but benevolent.

The image in the door faded, then another image, an image of a black man, speaking before a huge crowd of whites and blacks at what was obviously the nation's capital, appeared to him. 

There was a huge statue of president Lincoln, sitting upon a chair, behind the black man.

The Masked Man now knew what the door was.

"Time travel!"

"Not just time travel, detective. With adjustments of my device here, I can bring anything within fifty feet, no matter the size, within this door. You win this time. But I'll just start all over again, perhaps a few weeks ago, maybe a month?" Cavendish smiled.

The Masked Man knew he needed more information. He knew that Cavendish's ego would make him give away the information, just to prove how much of a genius he is.

"Maybe you're not as much of a genius as you think you are, Cavendish. How would you navigate where and when you want to arrive? How would you get back to your own time if you needed to? Apparently you haven't thought of everything."

"Wrong, detective!" Taking out a small remote from the control panel, Cavendish held it up, showing it as if he were a child that was proud of his new toy. "This homing device enables me to control where and when I shall arrive!"

"That's all I needed to know." With blinding speed, the Masked Man drew his pistol.  With one well-placed shot, the silver bullet shattered Cavendish's homing device.

"You fool! Do you realize what you've done?! Do you realize the monumental effrontery of your actions?! All my work!!!"

"You're breaking my heart, Cavendish. Now let's go. Carrington and his soldiers will escort you to your own private, padded cell, waiting for you in Washington."

"Arrgggh!!!" With madman's speed and strength, Cavendish lunged at the Masked Man, tackling him before he could squeeze off another shot.

Cavendish was now on top of the Masked Man. Grabbing him by the hair, Cavendish banged the back of the masked man's head against the floor.

Loud "thuds" echoed throughout the chamber.

The Masked Man felt as if his head was about to burst.

Cocking his right arm, the Masked Man sent a smashing right cross into Cavendish's jaw. The force of the impact sent Cavendish sprawling off of the Masked Man, freeing him.

But not before Cavendish grabbed the Masked Man's mask.

Cavendish recognized the now unmasked Lone Ranger. "You! John...John Reid."

Cavendish ran to his control panel and pressed a button.

"Maybe I've lost, but so have you!"

The great generator began to shudder and whir. A nuclear overload had begun.

Leaping into the air like some avenging bird of prey, the Lone Ranger delivered a smashing kick to the face of Cavendish, his spurs scarring the cheek of Cavendish. 

Cavendish dropped the Ranger's mask to the floor.

The impact of the kick sent Cavendish through the crackling door of time.

"That's for my brother. That was for you, Dan."

The Masked Man then went to the control pad.

The shaking and shuddering grew louder and the Lone Ranger knew he only had seconds to figure out the control panel.

*********************************************************

The former prisoners, along with their blue coat and Sioux allies were victorious. The guards were either captured or dead. But now, the ground and even the very air began to shudder.

"Now what?" said Jones.

"I think it's time to go, now, Colonel!" said Tonto.

Carrington yelled, "Everyone out, now!"

Everyone who could run, ride, or crawl, began streaming out of the Lucky Strike mining camp, as quickly as they could, driven by the fear of something they could not imagine.

*********************************************************

"That maniac said that everything within fifty feet of this thing could be transported," the Masked Man said to himself. "How?! How?!"

The brilliantly honed mind of the Lone Ranger focused, then understood. Somehow, someway, he understood the meanings of the dates and numbers underneath each button.  Making adjustments on the panels, he pressed the buttons.

Instantaneously, a green hue of light wrapped itself around the nuclear reactor. Then, like some futuristic vacuum, the overloading reactor was sucked into the door of light. The door itself then collapsed into itself, disappearing and leaving no trace.

Whipping the sweat from his forehead, the Lone Ranger breathed a sigh of relief.

Walking over to his mask, the Lone Ranger picked it up and put it back on.

*********************************************************

New York City, November 1941, just weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Green Hornet and Kato, masked vigilantes against crime, who for years have masqueraded as gangsters in order to infiltrate the East Coast's underworld, are now in the employ of the United States government.

Their mission, to stop Axis spy rings in New York, the operating grounds of the Nazi American Bundt.

In reality, the Green Hornet is newspaper publisher Britt Reid, aided by his chauffeur, a mechanical prodigy and martial arts expert by the name of Kato Ikano, whom he befriended during a trip to Japan years earlier.

Through his on the street "grapevine", Britt Reid has gotten a tip on a Bundt plot to bomb the Empire State Building.

Kato, though Japanese by descent, has chosen to aid his friend, knowing full well that his motherland, now in alliance with Nazi Germany, will soon be in conflict with the United States.

At the basement of the building, six Bundists, Americans of German extraction, loyal to Hitler's Germany, were planting a bomb.

Getting the jump on them with his gas gun and sonic Hornet Sting drawn, Reid shouted, "Hold it right there, Ratzis!"

With a whir of the Hornet Sting, Reid fired his sonic blast, shattering the bomb's trigger device.

"The Green Hornet!" shouted the leader of the would be Nazis.

Two of them charged while four others, including the leader, tried to make their escape.

"Hi-yahh!!" With a flying double kick, Kato sent the two would be attackers into dreamland.

"Tie 'em up, Kato, and then call Scanlon!"

"Right, boss!"

Britt Reid, the Green Hornet, gave chase to the other four, who were running down the hall towards the basement elevator.

Suddenly, a bright flash of white light opened up in front of The Green Hornet.

Shielding his masked eyes, it seemed to him as if a door of light was opening up.

Out of this door came the form of Butch Cavendish, his face just recently scarred from the kick of the Lone Ranger.

Recognizing the criminal from descriptions left in his great uncle's memoirs, Britt Reid, in shock, said, "Butch Cavendish!"

SEPTEMEBER 12, 1861

The mining town, near the former Lucky Strike Mines, daytime in front of the town saloon.

Jedidiah was standing against one of the pillars that held up the extended roof of the nearby saloon. 

Joshua came over to him and asked, "What are you waitin' around for?  Where's Sam?"

With his hat pulled over his eyes to shield him from the sun, Jedidiah said, "Joshua, you ever heard that if you love a woman, you gotta give her some space...just so's she could make up her mind about things?"

Joshua just looked on, blankly, not knowing what Jedidiah meant.

"That's what I'm doin'. She'll be along soon enough."

“Where’s her brother, Justin?

Jedidiah’s face saddened. “There were some casualties when the mine blew up. Sam doesn’t know yet. He didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry!” Jedidiah nodded accepting his sympathies. “Well, I got to find my partner and head out. Maybe we’ll cross paths again sometime.”

“Maybe so.” He said as he watched Mr. Smith head on over to the livery stables.

 
*********************************************************

At a quiet corner of town, nearby the livery stable...

Samantha Calhoun looked deeply into the eyes of the Masked Man and asked, "What pain drove you to put this on?"

"The loss of family...and a promise," replied the Masked Man.

"I'd say you're keeping that promise," said Samantha.

Gently, she kissed the Lone Ranger, feeling the pulsing off her heart that comes only from a strong attraction.

They both knew it could never be.

The Masked Man looked on as Samantha walked away, back towards where she knew Jedidiah was waiting...

*********************************************************

Inside the livery stable, Carrington, Jones, Link, and Sim were making ready to ride out of town.

Tonto was there, as well, already mounted, waiting for his friend.

Jones asked, "Well Link, what're your plans?"

Link responded, "I'm a free man. A lot of my people ain't. I reckon I'll accompany the colonel there back East. There's talk of raising a regiment made up of Negro soldiers to fight the Confederacy."

Sim added, "You don't expect to just leave me back here, do ya?"

Link asked Jones, "How 'bout you?"

Jones responded, "Me and my partner got us some more government 'assignments' that we got to do. It's part of the price for our parole. Maybe one day, I'll tell you all about our business. As long as you come back from the war alive, buddy."

The two men shook hands.

Jones then turned to Tonto.

"How 'bout you, Tonto? Going back to your people?"

"My white brother and I have our own paths we must follow," responded Tonto.

The Masked Man came riding in on Silver.

Carrington said, "You'll be happy to know that not only did we put an end to Cavendish's operations, but thanks to you, we've got enough evidence to put away Judge Floyd Boland and Sheriff Arden Newsome away for a long time."

The Masked Man responded, "They were in on Cavendish's rackets, framing innocent men so that he could supply Cavendish with a steady supply of slave labor. It was the men inside the camp who testified. All we did was help free them so that they could tell the whole story."

Carrington nodded in agreement.

The Masked Man then turned to Tonto. "Ready Tonto?"

"Ready, Kemosabe."

The two men then rode out of the livery stable as the Masked Man yelled out "Hi yo, Silver, away!"

Link and Jones walked up to Carrington.

Jones said, "Colonel, I know that we owed our lives to that Injun...and to that there 'white brother' of his on the white horse. Tonto even said that it was the masked man who saved us at the fort, signaling you while providing the distraction that enabled us to fight. Then preventing Cavendish's machine from blowing us all to hell. Colonel, who was that Masked Man?"

Carrington smiled. "He is the last surviving member of a band of Texas lawmen who swore to make the West safe for all people. He made a promise of justice over his brother's grave and his name will soon be legend among all decent Americans who make the West their home. He is...The Lone Ranger."

The Beginning...

 *********************************************************

Epilogue:

As Joshua, Thaddeus, Samantha and Jedidiah were heading in the same direction, they rode together. As it grew dark, Cody came upon them. They decided to make camp and rest for the night, and then continue on their journey the next day.

Samantha kept to herself most of the night and Cody wondered about that while the three fellas told him about their adventures of the last few days. Midway into the story, Cody realized that Justin wasn’t there. He wanted to ask where he was, but didn’t want to interrupt the story, so he waited until the tale was over.

“So where is Justin now?” Cody asked as the fellas started getting ready to turn in.

“He didn’t make it.” Jedidiah softly said. “The mine was blown up, and . . . and he just didn’t make it.”

Cody wanted to say he was sorry to Samantha, but she had already turned in and had her back to him. He felt sorry for her.