《BOOK 5: THE RETURN OF ASMODEUS -- (a Perth's Accidental Superheroes series) VOL 2.1 POST-TREETON》
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IT HAPPENED 13 YEARS AGO IN SINGAPORE, wherein the Kandang Kerbau Maternity Hospital, Robin Wong was admitted to deliver her first-born. Her real estate businessman husband Albert Wang was away at that time at Jakarta, to acquire a land deal for the building of a mall in the Indonesian capital city…
… but his matriarch mother Madam Wang flew FROM PERTH OVER to the Lion-city to anticipate the birth of her FIRST ‘GRANDSON’ to her only son.
Due to complication, Robin was down in anaesthesia as the doctors performed a C-section on her – later, Madam Wang was disappointed when Robin delivered her twin daughters that night...
… and ‘not’ – the expected male born-heir.
… and, it turned out that one of the twin girls WAS BORN BLIND.
The arguing matriarch from Perth soon fought with Robin’s parents and relatives…
… that Robin had CHEATED’ ON his son to have extramarital affairs -- and those girls WERE ‘NOT’ of Albert’s children but of another man’s who frequent her hair salon in Orchard Road.
After the stir-up drama, outside the maternity ward, Madam Wang left to fly back to Perth, and Robin’s parents too decided to give the blind baby girl away FOR ADOPTION – and later inform their daughter -- once she regained consciousness that SHE GAVE BIRTH to a healthy baby girl.
A wealthy aunt from Malaysia was in Singapore for business – and the spinster who was a precious stones and gems trader… who had visited that night, when Robin delivered the twins…
… she ‘secretly adopted’ the blind baby…
… and brought her back to Kuala Lumpur…
… naming the child Maggi Wong.
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13 YEARS LATER, IN KUALA LUMPUR…
… a blind tween was going back to her school…
… after visiting her former ‘school,’ which was the ‘Malaysian Association for the Blind’ – where Maggi Wong had her ‘previous’ years of soft-skills training as a visually impaired handicap student.
But 2 years ago, …
…her life changed dramatically when an American technological company had sponsored Maggi with A ‘PROTOTYPE’ cutting-edge communication 5G device, that would give a blind student ‘excess’ to education privilege as ‘equal’ to those who were born sighted.
That ‘QUALIFIED’ HER to enrol in a prestigious school named Kuan Cheng Highschool the next year…
… and Maggi was now IN MIDDLE-SCHOOL there -- as the ‘only’ blind student attendance. She was an average hardworking Arts-streamed student there…
But she was fluent and better in Malay national language among her vernacular classmates – where she had mastered the language during her times as a blind student in blinds’ association where she had more ‘multi-racial’ friends over there than here in the Chinese-school, Kuan Cheng.
Maggi’s next subject she excelled was music…
… where she ‘too’ had a good music teacher, in the association…
… now, SHE WAS a violinist in the Kuan Cheng’s orchestra…
But other than her ‘passion subject’ -- she struggled with her rest of the school subjects like Maths and Science – and ‘also’ with her mother tongue Mandarin language too…
… as a Chinese, Mandarin wasn’t her strong pursuit – as she grew up as a Christian because her aunt was one when she converted into that religion, during the younger days in the ‘80s. For 12 years, Maggi was taught at home -- to speak English -- but she too spoke the dialect Hokkien mainly in her close-community, while the greater Kuala Lumpur spoke more in Cantonese – therefore, her Mandarin wasn’t good in school and she was ‘teased’ for it…
… when her Kuan Cheng ‘friends’ call her a banana – yellow on the ‘outside’ but white in the ‘inside’ as per her Christian English and her ‘western’ upbringing. Her ‘other’ nicknames in school were ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Amen.’
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Maggi was trying hard to catch-up with the fundamental requirements of a vernacular school…
…. in the fast-paced Kuan Cheng’s studies system, while Maggi was ‘coping’ with her interactive SIM™ in Mandarin mode as her study-coach…
… and, the only caveat was…
… the terms-and-conditions, where in-return…
… the blind-girl WAS TO SUBMIT consistently the 21-days basic learning skills – to be uploaded into the SIM’s ‘parent’ company database.
-O-
After lunch with her fellow blind friends in the association, Maggi was going back in the blistering hot and humid weather to Kuan Cheng for music class…
A long, ‘covered’ overhead pedestrian pass-bridge separating from the association building to Kuan Chen – which the blind-Maggi daily took – while hearing ‘below’ of the vehicles crossing on the 2-way road-system of the Kuala Lumpur Federal Highway.
The bridge also crossed a river that ‘used’ to be the Klang River – where a couple of hundred years ago, the tin-mine tycoon businessman Yap Ah Loy had built the early city of Kuala Lumpur at the river bank. Maggi had heard of the river’s history from the other blind senior people who came at the association, who described it as it used-to-be a ‘healthy’ big river back-then. These days, with the Malaysian capital city’s development -- the Klang River too, had been polluted, murky green and ‘reduced’ to be narrow-and-slim in size...
… shrunken with the cost of progress in the city’s modernization.
There was a monorail train station of Tun Sambathan close-by the association building, where the 30-meter 2-way high-rise tracks -- that her sighted-friends have described the rapid train whizzing and passing-by glassed buildings half-its-height, and over some rooftop establishments situated at ground-zero. The train system went from the heart of the city to branch out to the exterior places.
-O-
Maggi lived with her spinster aunt who ‘adopted’ her -- in Damansara, which was outside the city. These days she took the train to school since she was ‘assisted’ by her SIM device – but back then, BEFORE…
… Madam Susan Wong, her aunt had declared her precious gemstone business bankrupt…
… Maggi was chauffeur-driven in a Lexus to the city by aunt Susan Wong’s employed driver.
Her 60-year-old aunt, whom she dearly loved as her ‘only’ guardian, but in recent years…
… had ‘not’ been healthy, with a rare blood disease -- ever since the period when her business had gone-under…
… and they even sold the family car 2 years ago, when the medical bills escalated.
-O-
While Maggi was in school, Madam Wong occasionally went to the hospital for her blood disease treatment. Whenever the tween asked about her health condition and issues – the old spinster aunt would ‘not’ tell her -- and was secretive about it, so ‘not’ to let Maggi worry.
But the blind girl was consistently burdened, feared and concerned about ‘losing’ her ‘only’ guardian. At an early age, she knew she was ‘adopted’ -- and had asked before ‘who’ her parents were…
… even that information was withheld by her ‘secretive’ spinster aunt, who…
… held her blind girl's arm and led her to the Christian altar – and made her ‘hold’ the holy statue of ‘Jesus and Mary’ – telling her that ‘they’ were her parents…
Now, that she had received her SIM device, with worldwide access to information at her fingertips – she desperately wanted to know ‘who’ her actual parents were and their whereabouts…
… and she ‘almost’ found it out, when…
… her aunt Wong Fei Hong from Penang visited her elder sister in Damansara.
The younger aunt ‘doesn’t’ like Maggi as she was to inherit the house in Damansara when her sister died someday – and not’ her, her ‘own-blood-sister.’ Sometimes openly, she directly ‘blamed’ Maggi of the bad luck of Susan’s illness.
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On her recent visit, Aunt Fei Hong told Susan that she was ‘cursed’ by a certain Blackmagic talisman – and urged the older sibling to be exorcised by a Taoist medium at a temple in Penang. But the Christian Susan argued that she was ‘not’ into old Chinese superstition nor do believe that was the ‘cure’ to her blood disease.
Then in front of Maggi, the visiting aunt blamed the blind-girl of bringing bad luck because…
… at the black-market…
… 12 years ago, gemstone trader Susan Wong bought – THE TALISMAN OF AANDALEEB…
… which was a ‘lucky charm’ FROM THE MIDDLE EAST but that was ‘actually-cursed’ – and a purchase-made ON THE SAME DAY, she had ‘adopted’ Maggi from the hospital…
Through both the old siblings heated argument – the young Maggi learnt that she had a father, a mother and a twin sister living in Perth…
… and also learnt that her AUNT HAD ‘SOLD’ OFF the Talisman 2 years ago for a profit – that had BEEN COVERING her hefty medical cost in return since she was declared bankrupt.
-O-
Blind-Maggi had crossed the flyover bridge over the slim River Klang -- and was descending 40 concrete steps to go to her school. She had to cross a public soccer field to the side-gate of Kuan Cheng High school…
… that was the 2-minute-walk that SHE DREAD-MOST…
… where there were those 2 yellow dogs which terrorized the blind-girl who walked with her cane…
… although with her SIM who self-guided Maggi with steps-and-pace direction but she always ‘held’ her cane – as it had helped before, when she warded the threats by ‘waving’ it at the fierce barking dogs.
Her white canvas shoes sloshed on the wet grass when she crossed the field – anticipating running paws as the dogs which ‘only’ barked when they had gotten closer…
Maggi was relieved and eased that the dogs were ‘not’ there that afternoon to terrorize her – as she walked a few metres closer to Kuan Cheng’s side gate…
… but her SIM device THEN ‘ALERTED’ HER that 3 men were fast approaching from her left…
… forewarned MAGGI TO FLEE…
But it was too late as one of the men caught her…
… the blind struggling girl then heard someone shouting in Malay.
It was the Nepalese school security guard – soon Maggi heard 3 loud explosive bangs of gunfire shots at close range.
The frightened blind girl heard the man who held her – threatening her to cooperate and walk faster…
… Maggi ‘RECOGNIZED’ the voice…
She then heard a moving vehicle coming and the random shouts of urgency to ‘escape’ – Maggi was thrown into the back of the van, and men too got in – and hurrying the van driver in Cantonese to speed away…
… Maggi then ‘realised’ that…
… she was abducted by the EX-EMPLOYEE DRIVER of her Aunt Susan’s Lexus.
<><>
THE ONE-ARMED RED-DEMON armed with his flaming sword was chasing the escaping incubus that was running on its fours at the bank of River Tiber.
Nearby, the God of River, Tiberius was mad – of the ‘disturbance’ of the intruders – as it was an invasion of his privacy with his harem of nymphs swimming in the river. The naked titan stood up akimbo from the water – and with his loud voice waved out curses and insults.
… Mercury ignored the abuses as he pursued his chase – although the slurs were in his mother tongue.
The deep purple skinned incubus fled to high-ground to the Palatine Hill of the old. The barefooted Red-demon was on its tail until…
… he was ‘lost’ it in-sight when the entity entered a cave opening…
… Mercury rushed into the dark cavern ‘blindly’ – only to realise that it was a ‘trap’…
… as the fissure was enchanted with Blackmagic snare to ‘weaken’ the aggressor demon.
His burning sword fizzled out in the total darken milieu – but the demon used his loud tongue clicks like a bat -- to locate the incubus ‘whereabout’ – with echoes bouncing back at random off the cave walls. He was back at the incubus tail…
… Mercury then felt weaker as he ran and felt nausea as his stomach was turning inside-out… he was transforming into the Roman messenger-god – his left arm grew from his shoulder-stump…
… his sword turned to a caduceus staff…
… his horned dome morphed into a petasos winged helmet…
… his bare feet wore talaria winged boots.
Soon, Mercury stumbled a bright light coming from the end of one of the branching caverns – he followed with a caution to discover…
… the light was from an ‘escape’ portal was seated in the hollows…
… where nearby was a sleeping she-wolf – and also the silhouette of a one-armed boy’s aura looking at it…
The fascinated Peter saw at his feet – were 2 twins of human babies suckling the sleeping mother wolf – the toddlers were hybreed of part-wolf…
… one was black-furred and the other was grey.
“Peter…” Mercury called-out from his rear.
Mercury too saw the ‘wolves’ -- and knew it was 753 BC of the past – where a she-wolf had rescued 2 abandoned twin-siblings from the river…
… Romulus and Remus – who both were then saved…
… from the certain death of a tyrant king.
With his one arm, Peter snatched the weaker pup-toddler -- which was the grey Remus from the wolf’s suckling teats…
… holding it up, Peter scoffed at the terrified pup…
“I was told in history class that kingdoms in any civilization strived when there was an application of ‘the survival of THE FITTEST AND THE STRONGEST rule’ – don’t you think so, Mercury?”
He dropped and kicked it…
… the pained pup yelped and it ran frighten and escaped into the portal.
“Peter, please come back with me…” Mercury then said.
“Make me,” chuckled the evil boy.
Mercury approached Peter’s aura from the rear – who then ‘jumped’ into the black-furred suckling pup…
… that transformed Romulus into…
…Marchosius the Roman wolf-demon.
The black werewolf stood tall as it roared and howled – Mercury was no ‘match’ to that towering ferocious beast without his burning sword….
… the wolf-demon was circling him on its fours – ready to pounce at him…
Mercury turned and fled – with Marchosius leaping behind and chasing after…
… his quicksilver talaria boots saved Mercury in a nick-of-time – who ‘survived’ his certain death by diving and escaping into the ‘open’ vortex portal…
-O-
The one-armed Red-demon fell on the sands with his flaming sword onto the ‘other’ side – he laid a moment on his stomach and realised he was on back at the Egyptian desert.
Tired and weary, Mercury stood up on his feet and looked around the dune sand blown gently away from the western winds. He then realized too that one of his horns was broken…
… recalling the former mission with the Cursed-trio IN THAT SAME DESERT – where they fought against the vicious flying gorilla demons.
The Red-demon scoffed and cursed under his breath, in his mother tongue…
… of his ‘failed’ mission – where the ‘aura of Peter’ had ‘once’ again escaped – with the aid of Asmodeus’ dark allies.
He spat on the sand…
… recalling the dream-in-a-dream a moment ago, when he faced the brutal wolf-demon Marchosius – as he ‘knew’ that demon before too…
… when he was known as Marquis, a soldier-of-fortune werewolf, whom…
… the All-Father Asmodeus engaged his service, time-to-time in the Underworld – and most of the time, he was on his ‘own’ agenda…
… by engaging in cage fight-sports for prize-money, in batting gladiator demons at the marketplace.
-O-
The sun was up, with mirages forming in the hot sands, where the barefooted demon walked back home to the Cube of Apollo…
… deja vu…
… he stumbled upon a GREY ALSATIAN DOG sleeping in the sand…
… he recalled the last time when he was wandering ‘hungry’ and wanted to eat-the-dog – where it then transformed into A SILVERBACK WEREWOLF and attacked him back in its’ self-defence.
… the other time he next saw the werewolf was when -- he and the Good-one were fighting the Fu-Dogs -- where this ‘dog’…
… ‘saved’ a certain Maggi Wong -- as he was her ‘protector-and-guardian’ animal spirit.
Gingerly, the Red-demon approached the sleeping dog, whistling and tongue clicks…
“… hear, Wolfie – here boy…”
… he anticipated the waking dog to pounce at him…
Piper opened his eyes and wagging his tail, and he dashed and danced around Mercury…
“You ‘came’… I summoned you, Master-demon -- and, you came…”
… Mercury was ‘surprised’…
“… a ‘talking’ dog…?”
“Yes, I ‘can’ talk in ‘your’ dreams…”
“Where is THE ‘OTHER’ fellow?”
“… The Wolf-man? I can’t seem to ‘turn’ into him – that was ‘why’ I called you in my dreams, O’ Master-demon – the ‘other’ twin is in danger – I ‘need’ you to rescue her… please help Maggi – she has been ‘taken’ by some bad-men…”
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IN THE CUBE OF APOLLO, Mercury woke up in the cot from his dream-in-a-dream – he left the naked goddess Venus to her slumber, and left the antechamber…
… he was hungry…
… he sneaked into the pantry without the knowledge of the waking crew in the control room – with the hologram and the rebel-Virgo who were both on ‘duty’ to look-out for enemy-portals of Asmodeus’ army and bounty hunters – which they all were ‘running’ from…
Mercury found ‘what’ he was looking for – a satchel bag which he hid from everyone – where the content was the half-eaten Ammit’s liver…
… saved from the Perth Great Fire Mission…
The Red-demon bit and chewed the rancid and rotten meat…
… as he recalled the dream of the ‘talking’ dog had told him of his plight of the girl, Maggi Wong in danger – where he ‘had’ promised Piper that he would help.
The fetid and decaying meat was ‘tasty’ after weeks of preserve and stand…
Although he had ‘converted’ to Buddhism after SeeIn had enlightened him at the temple in Kampuchea…
… but Mercury noticed he had been losing his ‘demonic-instincts’ ever since practising fasting and veganism of his ‘new’ belief – that was ‘why’…
… Asmodeus was having his ‘upper-hand’ IN HIDING the ‘Aura of Peter’ that he possessed the ‘vessel’ with…
… his minion – THE INCUBUS ISKUR… was protecting his ‘asset.’
Mercury needed ‘his balance’ of ‘good-and-evil’…
… to sharpen-and-heighten HIS INTUITIONS AND IMPULSES -- if he were to ‘help’ the mortals on earth.
He continued to eat the Egyptian demon’s decomposing liver meat.
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