It was late. The Professor had gotten me settled into his place which was actually a time machine. Yeah, that should come in really handy, only apparently it was not working now. We were both stranded here in the thirty-first century. He because of a malfunctioning time machine that had brought him from the future and I because of a malfunctioning cryopod that had brought me from the past. But apparently, we were both here for the same reason.

Our mission was clear. We had to stop New Life Labs from unleashing a zombie apocalypse. What was not clear was how to do this. We had no idea who or how many people at the lab were actually behind this or how to stop them. We only had one clue. Someone in the future had given The Professor a name. A name of someone who 'might' be able to help. You'd think the future could be more specific. Anyway, our first step was to find this person called the Martian Mauler.

We left the dysfunctional time machine and using the map I had been given, we found our way to the heart of South Lake Tahoe. It was now a crowded megacity combining what in my day were the two separate towns of South Lake and Stateline.

Things had certainly changed. All the buildings were more futuristic, yet the streets were dirtier and even the modern buildings looked old and in disrepair. The street was lined with towering multi-story casinos connected about every ten stories up by overhead moving walkways.

"How are we going to find this person?" I asked.

"How else, Ethereal? We simply start asking people." He laughed.

To my surprise, the first person we asked explained to us that in fact, the Martian Mauler was a well-known underground fighting champion. All we had to do was find out where the fights were being held and The Mauler would no doubt be there. Finding the fight location proved a bit more difficult, but as it turned out, the fight found us.

After several hours of futile searching, a guy you'd expect to find pissing on a city street approached us like a drunken cat about to pounce on a butterfly. "Hey, earthling. I hear you're looking for a fight."

"Actually, we're looking for the Martian Mauler." The Professor informed him.

The drunk looked me up and down and said, "Honey, you aren't ready for The Mauler. She'd chew you up and spit you out in the first round."

"I don't want to fight her. We just need to talk with her."

"Pfft," the drunk exhaled an alcoholic breath that could knockout an elephant. "You're an earthling. She ain't gonna talk to you."

"Why is that?" The Professor asked.

"You're kind o' stupid even for an earthling." The drunk remarked. Then he explained, "Man, she's a Martian. Martians got no use for earthlings. To them Earthlings are the villains. They're the reason Mars is not as popular as Earth. The only way The Mauler will talk to you is if you beat her in the ring. Even then make sure she agrees to it before you fight. If she agrees to it, she will do it. Unlike an earthling, she always keeps her word."

"That's good enough for me. Can you set the fight up for us?" I asked.

"Are you serious? She'll kill you," The drunk replied shaking his head.

"Can you, do it?" I repeated.

"Yeah, I can do it. I was sent to find a couple of rookies for the opening fight. Coming back with an opponent for The Mauler will get me a bonus. Everyone loves a good massacre!" He looked at me again and just shook his head. He handed us a card with the address. "Just be at this address tomorrow night at 10 p.m." As he left, he added, "And don't be late. You don't want to be late for your own funeral," he laughed.

"Was that a good idea?" The Professor asked me, raising his eyebrows.

"I hope so," I answered. "I have a talisman that is supposed to make me temporarily invincible."

"How long does it last?"

"That, my good professor, is a very good question."

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We got to the fight on time. The Professor had given me a leotard to wear and of course I had my talisman tucked inside it. For practice and to make sure the talisman was working, I had the Professor take his best swing at me. The talisman worked. I easily dodged The Professor's attempt at a knockout punch.

I saw TheMauler for the first time as I entered the ring. What little confidence I had disintegratedquickly. I had clearly bitten off morethan I could chew. What if the talismanstopped working? What if she didn't evenhave any information on who we should target in New Life Labs. As if that mattered, there was no way I wasgoing to survive this

We met with the referee in the center of the ring. He asked if we had any questions The Mauler just grunted. I said, "I'm new to this. What exactly are the rules?"

They all just laughed, including the audience. Then the referee said, "No rules girl. This is an anything goes fight. Are you ready?"

I mustered all my courage and said, "Wait. I have just one rule. If I win The Mauler has to agree to answer all my questions or else, I am out of here."

The referee gave me a puzzled look and asked, "What are the questions?"

"What does it matter? I'm probably not going to survive this anyway."

The referee turned to The Mauler and asked, "Do you agree to her rule?"

The Mauler answered, "Sure, why not?" She nodded at me and said, "Don't worry honey. I'll make this quick."

The referee told us, "Go to your corners and when I give the signal come out fighting."

At the signal, I took a few hesitant paces out of my corner and realized The Mauler was coming at me full speed like a run-a-way freight train only scarier. My reflexes kicked in and at the last moment, I ducked under one of her failing arms and pivoted out of her path. She went right into the ropes. I had moved faster than I had thought was even humanly possible. We were both surprised.

I moved toward the center of the ring to give myself more options when she came at me again. I figured she'd only try that head-on rush one more time before she wised up and took a more deliberate slower approach. The rush would probably be my only chance to use my speed and her momentum to do some real damage.

She rushed me again. This time I faked to one side then when she adjusted, I came back in front of her and cracked my forehead into her nose while at the same time I pivoted around her rapidly punching her ribs as I went. As I came around her I tripped her, and putting my shoulder into her massive back, I shoved her sending her sprawling onto the mat.

When she raised her head up her nose was bleeding profusely, but she was not done. I figured I had to act fast now before the talisman wore off. I was already feeling like I was slowing down. While she was still down. I quickly ran over and began kicking her in the ribs with lightning speed until I heard one of them crack. Finally, I jumped up and came down on her with my knees first aiming for the injured rib. She let out a scream and raised her hand to indicate submission. I think it was just in time. I felt out of energy, and we were both still alive.

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We were all seated in her changing room. She was seated on a table so the medic could work on her. He stopped the bleeding and taped up her nose so we could talk to her. As he began taping up her rib she asked, "Now, what is so all-fired important that you had to nearly kill me to get the answers to?"

I began, "We heard that you might know who was behind the zombie army that New Life Labs was creating."

"I see." She winced in pain as the medic applied another strip of tape. "It figures that bitch is still causing me pain. Can I ask why you need to know?"

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"Probably not. It's just that if I tell you I will sort of be betraying a trust. So, I'd really like to know how you are going to use the information."

"Honestly, we hope to put a stop to it," The Professor explained.

"That would be a good thing." The Mauler nodded. "I'd like to see that too. For what it's worth, the person you are looking for is Lana Lovelock. She is one of the directors on the board of New Life. There are probably others involved, but I'm sure she is the main one and I am sure she is up to no good."

"How do you know this?"

"She was my lover. We are broken up now. It was not an amicable break up."

"Sorry to hear that," I tried to commiserate.

"I'm not. I'm just sorry I didn't break her neck when I had the chance."

The Professor broke the awkward silence, "Do you know why she is creating this army?"

"She's a Martian. She hates earth. If Earth becomes overrun with zombies, she thinks Mars will become the more favored planet. Although, I think she ultimately wants to control both planets.

After we left her, I asked the Professor, "Do you think we can trust her?"

"Sometimes there are no heroes, just anti-heroes galore. Judging from her animosity toward her ex,this is a case where we can pit the anti-hero against our villain."