BILLY STEELE: KID RANGER, CHAPTER THREE

And Bat Masterson used his silver handled cane like a sword to knock a sniper’s shooting iron from his hand before the outlaw could pull the trigger on The Lightning Warrior. The Legion Of The Lawless fell to these legendary, cowboy crusaders.

Meanwhile, now faced with defeat, The Trinity Of Terror’s outlaw followers began to break apart from their unholy allegiance. Robber rivals The James Brothers and The Dalton Gang, blamed each other’s greed for getting them stuck in this trap. Soon, the outlaws turned their guns away from the heroes and began to open fire at each other. Billy The Kid, fearing the hangman’s noose, blamed his fall from grace upon the seductive lips of a woman, Belle Starr, with whom he had shared his intimacy the night before. The bandit queen took violent exception to becoming The Kid’s scapegoat and soon, Billy learned the meaning of the phrase, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." The scorned bandit queen shot the pistol from the teen outlaw’s hand and then she threw him to the ground and they fought tooth and nail in the dust.

But before the desperadoes could devastate each other entirely, their Alamo stronghold had been conquered by Holt’s Rangers and his league of extraordinary cowboy crusaders. The demonic outlaws dropped their fearsome six guns, and those outlaws foolish enough to defy the riders for justice, soon felt the saber’s mighty thrust. By this time, the enraged Lightning Warrior had only one mission to fulfill-bring the escaping Dark Skull, Wolf Man and Don Diablo to justice.

The Trinity Of Terror, upon seeing their forces captured, sped off in different trails after discharging a hail of gunfire at The Warrior. After the bullets ricocheted from the Warrior’s shield, he mounted his white steed, The Thunder Rider, and with his wonderful wolf, war dog, The Lone Defender by his side, The Warrior gave chase after his prey, Don Diablo.

The blood red costumed disciple of Lucifer galloped furiously down an unknown trail to escape his super heroic pursuer. In the distance, Don Diablo saw a hay wagon. He lit the wagon with a monstrous laugh and unhinged its support so that the rolling inferno would set the Warrior ablaze. But The Warrior fired a massive energy bolt from his enchanted wristbands and blew the flaming wagon apart. Boom! Fire from the sky, debris from the wagon fell upon Don Diablo, and like his namesake, the masked outlaw was engulfed in hellish flames. The all consuming fires of hell had devoured the one who professed to be their master!

While Don Diablo screamed in his death throes, his devil’s mask burned from his face. The first member of The Trinity Of Terror’s secret identity had been revealed, it was George, the old trapper, whom Billy had befriended on the trail.

The Warrior felt a twinge of sadness as he saw his hated enemy die in a most horrendous manner. Not even an enemy deserved to die in this much pain. The Warrior wanted to bring him to justice if only to learn why he had performed so many wicked deeds, but the Warrior knew that only part of his mission was completed. The Warrior again rode his lightning bolt like a super surfboard to rise above the dark woods to find The Trinity Of Terror’s remaining members. From above, he saw The Wolf Man readying death traps for him as he baited his Warrior prey.

The Warrior galloped his Thunder Rider steed to the half man, half beast’s location in a foreboding, dead-tree lined forest.