Jedd the Jedi

Unfortunately, I've tried to access the site today and cannot. It might have been taken off the net due to copyrightinh issues Hopefully it will be back online soon.

Thanks for the positive reviews so far! I won't be writing too much soon, though, because I'll be busy trying to (hopefully) complete Tomb Raider Anniversary, which I'm getting soon. The Scarecrow is a regular Batman villain and appeared in Batman Begins, played by Cillian Murphy.

I don't know. It's nice to see Angie more buxomy again, and I'm sure having more kids isn't a bad thing for her, but you know all the wild rumours that floated around before. Still, I don't like it when people call Angie "orphanage raider" or "orphan abductor" . It's her way of expressing good will and definitely isn't as bad as what some other showbiz people do in their spare time.

Hello once again all! After great reception for my earlier fanfic the Crown of Utama from April and Jolie, here's my latest. I've always wanted to do a Batman/Lara Croft crossover fic, since I am great fans of both fandoms. The clash of personalities coupled with their similarities would make for interesting writing. Basically, Lara travels to Gotham City after being invited by Bruce Wayne to a charity antiquities auction. However, the mysterious item up for bidding is wanted by a mysterious and threacherous foe from Batman's rogues gallery. A Knight and a Lady – Batman/Tomb Raider crossover fan-fiction Batman is the property of DC Comics. Lara Croft and Tomb Raider are the properties of Eidos Interactive. The following piece of fan-fiction is copyrighted to its author, Jedd JONG Yue. Chapter 1 Thin, wispy clouds floated by outside the windows of the Gulfstream G550, seemingly without a care in the world. The plane cruised casually through the troposphere, swiftly crossing the Atlantic. Lady Lara Croft leant back in her multi-position leather seat in the cabin of the executive jet. In her hand, she held a small envelope embossed with the logo of the Wayne Foundation in gold. It contained her personal invitation to the latest of many charity auctions organized by the Foundation. The items up for bidding would include various artifacts the intrepid adventuress had unearthed. In her other hand, she held one of the more precious items up for bidding. The Eleazor Phial, as it was called in Arabic. The vessel was small but ornate, covered in beautiful carvings. She still didn’t quite know why it was called a “phial”, as Lara saw no feasible way to open it. Her thoughts drifted back to the events which had led to her finding the phial… The dust settled around Lara as she surveyed the scene in front of her. A high-strength explosive had cleared away thousands of years of neglect, exposing what remained of an ancient middle-eastern town. Her companions gave her the thumbs up as she sauntered towards what attracted her attention the most: a covered well. Lara heaved the wooden paneling aside, and dropped a bright red flare into the depths of the well. It hissed, casting light on the circular stone walls. At last, it hit the floor. “I’m going in,” Lara declared. The men who had agreed to help her on this expedition rigged her up. Lara attached the carabiner to her belt and descended into the well, holding another flare with her free arm. Lara studied the stone wall on the way down. It was covered with carvings, glyphs depicting what looked like a man rising from a smoking pit in the ground. Wells almost never featured this oddity. All of a sudden, the rope gave way and Lara tumbled to the ground. Thankfully, the sand softened her landing. The flare still had some way to go. Lara felt the wall with her hands. Suddenly, one of the blocks pushed in. A creaking was barely audible, as Lara turned around and saw one of the bricks slide out of the wall. It was hollow, and in it was a mysterious capsule, small but covered with ornate carvings. She had just enough time for a quick look before she heard the distinct sounds of gunfire far above. The rope was no longer there. Lara’s closed in around a circular device on her belt, as a long tether shot up, its harpooned end wrapping around the support beam up above. She prayed it would hold as she ascended, pocketing the phial. She was met with quite an unpleasant sight. The bodies of her companions lay around, as bullets kicked up the sand all around her. Lara leapt, dodging the deadly spray. She landed in the soft sand, getting to her feet. With a well-aimed shot from one of the two pistols she produced, she incapacitated one of her masked assailants. The harsh desert sun beat down on her, as beads of sweat formed at her brow. She turned round; delivering what she hoped was a lethal kick to the head of one of the goons. One of the goons noticed the phial peeking out from her pocket. “The Demon!” he exclaimed. Lara was momentarily puzzled. Before she could finish the thought, a man on a dirt bike rode by. “Lara! Come on!” he shouted. Lara bolted in the direction of the vehicle, and they rode away to safety. Lara’s thoughts snapped back to the auction she was about to attend. She quite liked the idea of attending the auction, cavorting with the high society she was supposed to be a part of. After all, the events of the past month involving the evil shipping magnate Lynn Tan and the mystical Crown of Utama had left her needing a little relaxation. She was headed for Gotham on the eastern coast of the United States, a city that was equal parts dangerous and glamourous, much like Lara herself. Gotham was also home to the mysterious vigilante known as Batman. Lara found herself mildly fascinated by the unorthodox method in which the Dark Knight doled out justice. If she was lucky, perhaps she would be able to glimpse this figure of the night for herself. Far less interesting, by Lara’s estimation at least, was Bruce Wayne, the orphaned multi-billionaire who was also her host. The man seemed to fit the stereotype of a bored, rich playboy in every sense. It was gracious of him to invite her to the auction, of course. Wayne had even offered to let Lara stay at his mansion for the short period she was there. He was extremely handsome as well. Still, Lara had sifted through her fair share of suitors that fitted Wayne’s profile, and each one had been selfish and aloof. Her attention turned to the two men who were accompanying her on this trip. They wore dark glasses, stoic and expressionless. Lara sighed and shook her head. Winston had insisted that bodyguards chaperone her on this particular journey, as “Gotham is no place for a woman to be alone in the dark”. Lara was slightly peeved, as she thought her loyal valet of all people would know she was the last person alive who would need a bodyguard. Lara had survived far meaner than the streets of Gotham. Besides, Lara was always one to treasure her own personal space. As if reading her mind, the men seemed to stir. Lara ignored the movement. However, all of a sudden, the “bodyguards” began to stand up from their seats, brandishing guns. “Give us the phial”, one of them barked angrily. Lara held the object up in her hand, inspecting it for a moment. The men looked at her expectantly. Lara simply said, “No”. Her eyes narrowed and she got up, delivering a kick to the head of one of her assailants. He was thrown back into the cabin wall. Lara reached for her guns, but realised they had been taken. No matter, she thought to herself. The silenced pistol the attacker was carrying coughed angrily, embedding bullets in the plush surroundings of the aircraft. The slight turbulence that plagued the plane was doing nothing to help her situation. Lara reached for her trusty pistols, however dropping the phial in the process. “Bugger!” Lara said under her breath. The man instinctively dove down, grasping the phial. Lara aimed for his hand and shot twice. He grasped it in it, howling and the dropping the phial once more. It rolled under a nearby seat. Lara was surprised at how robust the phial actually was, since she had expected it to break at one point or another. Lara reached under the seat, groping around in the darkness to find the precious object. “Come on…” she said through gritted teeth. The attacker whom she had kicked earlier got to his feet, and stamped his foot down on Lara’s back. Lara cringed and used one hand to find the phial and the other, still holding the gun, to shoot her assailant. She twisted the pistol in her hand and fired. She knew she had hit her target when the man yelped in pain. At around the same time, Lara’s hands closed around the phial, which she slid into the safety of her pocket. Lara dragged both her assailants, one by one, to the door of the Gulfstream. Lara yanked the door open. The wind blew through her long, brown hair. The two attackers pleaded with her not to kill them. “No, that’s gravity’s job,” Lara smiled. With that, she shoved them out the door, as they yelled, tumbling through the wispy clouds to certain doom. Having almost been killed was not a new experience, but this particular one had led her to regard the phial she held in her hands with a certain suspicion. Was it more than just a glorified paperweight? Lara had tried to extrapolate the markings but found nothing, except Eleazor. This might have been the name of the owner. Alister, her eccentric archaeologist friend, had suggested that it might have been a phial of some sort, perhaps containing a mystic potion. The only problem was, Lara had tried most methods short of breaking the phial open. Lara had now decided the object had caused her more grief than anything else and would be glad to get rid of it at the auction. Much to her relief, the rest of Lara’s flight remained largely uneventful. Finally, the spires of Gotham’s skyline caught her eye. Small, red lights blinked irregularly, warning aircraft not to approach. Lara wondered if they were warning her, as well. Cars zipped through the motorways, in between the towering, art-décor skyscrapers which featured far too many arches and gargoyles, which seemed out of place for the time. Smoke curled into the air, adding to the light and noise pollution which Lara could sense even from the cabin of the Gulfstream G550. The runway was up ahead, faintly illuminated by small lights. The airport seemed to have a tense atmosphere, but since they were given clearance to land, Lara shrugged the thought off. The landing gear hit the tarmac, and just moments later Lara opened the door to her Gulfstream, ready to descend the stairs before her. However, what she saw made her realise her troubles had just begun. A Knight and a Lady Chapter 2 Bruce Wayne stepped towards the old grandfather clock, tucked away in a corner of Wayne Manor’s ornate main hall. He pressed his hand against the glass, just as he had done so many times before, as a scanner behind it read his handprint. The clock slid open to reveal a small room. Bruce pushed a button on a small control panel, as a mechanical whirring was audible. A tiny elevator capsule arrived, as he stepped in, allowing it to take him into the bowels of the mansion. After a few short seconds, he arrived in what became affectionately known as the “Batcave” – the base of operations for his alter ego. The underground caverns had been used as part of the Underground Railroad, ushering slaves to safety. Bruce had converted it into a high-tech working space, outfitting it with a filtration system and emergency power generators. His loyal valet, Alfred Pennyworth, was already waiting for him. “Trouble, sir,” he said primly. “As always,” Wayne said, already adjusting his voice into the low scowl that he adopted as the Batman. Alfred motioned towards the large screen of the Batcomputer, powered by just a few slaved Cray computers short of the Pentagon itself. The display showed a map of Gotham City, and a flashing red light was over the Gotham International Airport. Wayne sat down, tapping the keyboard briskly. He was now tuned into the police band frequency. “Hostage situation at Gotham International. All available units please report. Suspect has been described as Dr Jonathan Crane, alias The Scarecrow. Recently escaped from Arkham.” Bruce recognized the voice as that of Detective Renee Montoya, and that was all he needed to hear. He got up from his seat at the Batcomputer and disappeared into the costume section of the cave to suit up. He snapped on the ribbed nomex and Kevlar bi-weave armour he wore each evening, clasping the gauntlets around his forearms and donning the heavy-duty gloves. He fixed the utility belt around his waist, its compartments already filled with the state-of-the-art equipment he often employed. Bruce whipped the cape around his neck, its weighted scalloped tips falling neatly into place. Lastly, he fitted the cowl over his head, his transformation for the night complete. He emerged not as Bruce Wayne, but as Batman. The Batmobile, sleek yet robust, sat waiting for him on the turntable that sat in the centre of the cave. Batman jumped into it, as the turntable rotated to face the exit. The jet thrusters roared, as the vehicle sped out into the night. “Godspeed sir,” Alfred sighed. At the airport, Lara glanced down at the steps before her. Instead of the pomp and ceremony she expected to be greeted with, the airport was in utter chaos. “Ah! Rats! They’re all over me!” shrieked a maintenance man hopping about the tarmac. As far as Lara could see there were no rats in sight. Other airport staff was also displaying similar odd behaviour. “Don’t let me fall!” A woman standing on the perfectly level tarmac yelled. “Spiders…everywhere! Get them off me!” a janitor exclaimed, holding his hands out in front of him in sheer terror. All over the airport, travelers and staff alike were running helter-skelter, fearful of what they perceived to be the tangible manifestations of their individual phobias. Lara had seen her fair share of bizarre occurrences, but this “welcome” to Gotham City was the strangest yet. “What the devil is going on?” Lara muttered to herself. She cautiously took the first step down the staircase which had been wheeled in front of her executive jet. All of a sudden, a thick noxious fog carpeted the tarmac. Lara brought her hand to her mouth, gasping for air. The source of the fog was soon apparent. A lanky man dressed in what Lara made out to be a Scarecrow’s outfit stood in front of her, brandishing a scythe in one hand. The man’s clothing was patched together haphazardly, with straw sticking out of his sleeves. He wore a frightful burlap mask, with grotesque stitching for a mouth. The whole get-up was topped with a witch’s hat. He swung the scythe at Lara threateningly. Lara brought the guns to her hands. “I don’t know who you are, but for your own safety I suggest you back off, hobo man.” Lara was answered with a low, disembodied laughter. “Your plane,” the Scarecrow pointed a spindly arm at the Gulfstream. “I need it.” Lara’s eyes narrowed and she began to shoot. The bullets embedded themselves harmlessly in the scythe. “Suit yourself,” he said with what Lara was certain was a wicked smile beneath the thatched mask. A spray was emitted from under the Scarecrow’s sleeve. The jet was more nauseating than the fog that surrounded him. Lara fell to her knees, coughing and gagging. The scene before her seemed to twist, like something out of an Escher painting. Lara concentrated, trying her best to overpower the mist that was creeping its way into her mind. All of a sudden, an all-too-familiar scene materialized in front of the Tomb Raider. She saw her much younger self before her, entranced by the stone monoliths in a chamber in the Himalayan monastery where she and her mother had taken refuge after their plane crashed. The young Lara approached the pillars, as they split apart with an eerie glow before her. “Lara, have you found anything for the fire?” her mother’s voice, thin and disembodied, lingered in the air. Lara’s younger self approached the centre of the circle formed by the monoliths, touching the sword which was plunged into a stone dais. The sword suddenly turned, and sunk into the dais. Lara’s eyes widened. The green aura began to snake around the structure, as a large stone ring rose up from the ground, its centre a dazzling green light. “Lara, what are you…No, get back! Good Lord, what is it?!” Lady Amelia Croft exclaimed. “There’s something in the light!” Lara answered, entranced. Her older self stared at the scene played out before her, unable to look away. Tears welled up in her eyes. “No…” Lara managed weakly. The toxin had taken its toll, and Lara’s most painful memory had manifested in what she perceived to be a tangible form. She was powerless to stop the image of her mother moving cautiously forward, towards the upright stone ring and the light swirling within. “Stay here!” Lady Croft cautioned her young daughter. “What…who are you?” she asked the entity through the looking glass. “What? What about my daughter? You stay away from her! She meant no harm!” Her words echoed eerily, as tears welled in the older Lara’s eyes. “What’s happening mother?” her younger self asked, frightened. “Who’s there?” All of a sudden, Lady Amelia Croft’s expression contorted into one of sheer panic. “Oh, God no!” she yelled as she pulled the sword out from the dais with all her might. The bright green aura engulfed her, pulling her into the looking glass. Tears streamed down the older Lara’s cheeks. “No!” she exclaimed as she wearily brought her weapons to eye level. She fired the guns twice, the bullets penetrating the ghostly scene and dissolving it. The traumatizing tableau slowly disappeared, and Lara could make out the gasp of the Scarecrow. It turned out that her bullets had caught him in the arm. Lara continued firing as the Scarecrow scowled, trying to dodge her shots. He swung his scythe, leaving Lara with a gash on her thigh. The fresh pain stung her as she fell to the ground, clutching her wound. Barely perceptible and seemingly out of nowhere, a dark shadow swept into the scene, swinging a bat-shaped throwing weapon at the Scarecrow, causing him to drop his scythe. The Batman!. The vigilante tackled the Scarecrow and pinned him to the ground, just in time for the arrival of several armoured police vehicles. He proceeded up the steps and held Lara in his arms, as he swung away on the cable attached to his grapnel gun. “A knight in shining armour…” Lara muttered as she ran her hands over the ripped armour. Her rescuer displayed no emotion. They landed on the ledge of a nearby tower. “Take these as soon as you can,” he said, handing her two small pills. “They will neutralize the residual effect of the toxin.” Lara received the tablets and stared quizzically at them. “The phial,” he continued, holding his gloved hand out expectantly. “No,” Lara retorted. “Bruce Wayne wants to see it personally. It’s for the charity auction. Thanks, but by the way, I could have very well taken care of myself.” She brushed her hair aside and gazed at the airport, the police cleaning up the chaos. When she turned around, the Batman had disappeared. She popped the pills into her mouth with a swig of water from her hip flask. “Afraid of commitment, as usual,” Lara smiled to herself.

I pretty much liked Zip and Alister. The quips and comments were funny, and their constant banter breaks up the monotony of the game. They also give Lara someone to bounce dialogue off of.

Thanks so much! Yeah, I recently picked up the movie novelisations from a second-hand bookstore, and will be reading them soon. My next fanfic is a crossover with Batman, called a Knight and a Lady, so stay tuned!

Thanks very much! By the way Slamboy, that is some great-looking digital art! My only advice would be to make the lines on the side of her halter top have clearer definition.

Yeah, that is way awesome! It looks like something right out of the Top Cow comic books. I'd love to see more, perhaps some in colour, or some of Lara wearing a bikini or some other skimpy outfit !

You've got tremendous potential, but I have to say you need to work on your proportions a little. A stomach is a little too stunted in both drawings, and her face could use a littke help. Still, your shading is excellent.

Thanks so much Jolie and April! I don't mean to be ungrateful, but it would great if other forum members could share some thoughts on the story. And now, for the final chapter: Crown of Utama Chapter 16 - SHOWDOWN “Where to now, Lady Croft?” the pilot asked from the cockpit of Lara’s executive jet, a Gulfstream V. “We’ll have to find out, won’t we?” Lara replied, soaking wet. She was still shaken by the tense submersible chase, and a look out the window did nothing to calm her nerves. Lynn Tan stood on the deck of the New Genesis, holding the crown above her head. Alex also seemed to notice this bizarre scene. “What the hell is she doing?” he asked. The unearthly green wisp that formed around her seemed to answer his question. Lara was experienced enough to know that Lynn was probably being possessed by the Hantu Air, or water spirit, that was contained in the Crown of Utama. Past encounters with foes who had tried to harness ancient powers they knew nothing about had not turned out well for either Lara or her adversary at the time. “Hell, step on it!” Alex yelled towards the cockpit. The pilot nodded and began ascending as far away from the New Genesis as possible. Catching Lynn Tan could wait for another day, Lara thought to herself. Still, she sincerely doubted that would be the case. On the deck of the ship, one of the supertanker’s captains rushed out of the bridge and onto the deck. He was clearly taken aback by the sight of a possessed Lynn Tan. “Boss! What the…” Lynn reached behind her and with a flick of her hand; the man flew backwards into the ship’s metallic wall, denting it. He fell to the deck, unconscious. Lynn was now almost engulfed in the deadly aura, which began snaking upwards into the sky. It seemed to be reaching out for the Gulfstream. Inside the plane, Lara saw the aura slowly surrounding her plane. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought that the horrendous plane crash she had survived when she was nine would be repeated now. Lara felt the plane creaking. “Everyone bail out!” she yelled. The plane began to jarringly bend in the centre. Lara donned the jetpack Zip had engineered and prayed there would be enough fuel to get her to safety. Even though the only landing spot in sight was the supertanker itself, Lara knew it was worth risking. She leapt out of the Gulfstream, followed by Alex and then her pilot, who was wearing a standard parachute. As they cleared the craft, Lara could hear the excruciating sound of twisting metal behind her. The green mist, whatever it was, had folded the plane in on itself, as incredible as it sounded. The unearthly force pushed the two halves of the plane together, tearing it apart and mashing it together at the same time. It was not long before the plane failed altogether, and fell out of the sky like a wounded bird. The mass that hurtled towards the ocean was now unrecognizable, leaving a flaming trail in its wake. Lara swerved to the side to avoid being hit by what remained of her executive jet. Unfortunately, her pilot did not have such luck. The last thing he saw was the source of his occupation, now returning to bring him with it to its grave. He was crushed by the wreckage just moments before it splashed into the sea below, some distance from the New Genesis. “No!” Lara exclaimed. She knew all to well that if the villainous shipping magnate was to have her way; it would be her and Alex falling out of the sky next. Sure enough, the wispy green entity snaked up towards Lara, looking like ghostly tentacles. Lara maneuvered desperately to avoid their grasp, but to no avail. The tentacles tossed her around like a child’s toy. Lara tried her best not to be distracted, keeping an eye on the ground. However, she was feeling increasingly disoriented. In a moment of desperation, she reached for her pistol and fired it into the air, hoping to scare the entity off. Sure enough, it loosened its grip on Lara. She righted her jetpack and, with just metres to spare, landed safely of the deck of the New Genesis. Alex touched down just after she did. However, “safe” was probably not the best of words to use. Lara found herself, for what she thought was one too many times that day, face-to-face with one of her most formidable adversaries to date. And “formidable” was not a word that cropped up often in Lara’s vocabulary. Lynn was now wrapped in the mist emanating from the crown she held high above her head. She appeared to be in a trance, muttering some sort of ancient incantation under her breath. Time seemed to slow as she leapt into the air, jumping a distance far beyond that of normal human achievement. The green mist left its wake behind Lynn. Lara’s eyes narrowed as she readied her twin pistols. Alex stepped backwards, clearly intimidated. The sky around the New Genesis seemed to darken, as the Hantu Air caused the water to swell. A storm of supernatural proportions seemed to brew. A dramatic setting for a dramatic confrontation, Lara thought morosely to herself. Lara emptied the clips of both her pistols into her target, but the aura seemed to dissolve the bullets in mid-flight. Lynn continued to spin in the air, landing just in front of Lara and throwing her 20 feet across the deck of the New Genesis. Lara got up and brushed herself off. The storm continued to brew around the supertanker, flashes of fluorescent green lightning permeating the ominously cloudy sky. Lara removed the pin from one of her fragmentation grenades and threw it at the swirling green mass. Alex ran as far away from Lynn as he could. The grenade seemed to do no damage as well. Lynn floated above the deck, semi-solid green tentacles reaching out and tossing Lara in the air. Lara corrected herself and landed on her feet. It began to rain – not a drizzle, but a torrent. Lara’s hair was now plastered to her face, her uniform soaked through. Suddenly, Lara came up with a plan. “Alex, help me out!” She threw him a gun and they continued firing even though it was evidently useless. While deterring Lara and Alex, Lynn retreated slowly but surely across the deck of the ship. As it grew more irritated, the Hantu Air made the storm swell to mammoth proportions. The waves raged, crashing against the New Genesis. Soon, the supertanker seemed to be no more than a ferry in the hands of the savage water. Lara persisted, and the beast grew no happier. Lynn continued lashing out. The deck around her began to break up. The decks below seemed to show damage as well. Lara finally pushed Lynn back to the bridge, which towered over them. Lara removed the pins from all her remaining grenades and threw them in quick succession. But Lynn Tan was not her target. The grenades hit the bridge, their combined impact like a small bomb, quickly toppling the towering structure. It careened towards the deck, and fell atop the possessed Lynn. The already-weakened hull structure of the battered supertanker began to break up. Lara knew this was her cue to leave. “Alex!” she called out. “Lara, I’m here!” Alex was pinned beneath a fallen bar. Lara rushed over and heaved with all her strength, finally extricating Alex just before the ship was fully ready to meet its doom. As if on cue, a helicopter appeared overhead, battling the winds and raging downpour. From its markings, Lara recognized it as a Thai Navy chopper. She could barely make out Ahmad, directing the chopper to where she was. She waved, and the rescue helicopter began to lower a basket. Lara and Alex climbed into it as it began to winch upwards. Lara and Alex had just enough time to witness the utter decimation of the supertanker and their latest foe. The ship broke in half dramatically, shards flying into the damp air. The two halves were consumed by the raging waves in the blink of an eye, as explosions shot up into the air from it. The basket was finally winched up into the helicopter. “Ahmad! Am I glad to see you,” Alex said as he climbed out. “Thanks for coming,” Lara said to him. “No problem at all,” Ahmad replied. So Lara, anything else I can do for you? Lara wrapped herself in the towel she was handed. “All I want now is a nice, warm bath.” “Do I get to join you?” Alex smirked. Lara scowled and Ahmad laughed as the helicopter flew back towards the mainland. The crown sunk to the bottom of the ocean, and glowed one last, ominous time. The Hantu Air was back at home. -END-

I've posted most of these in the Underworld fanart thread but just thought I'd give myself a heads-up here. I just did an Underworld-based piece accessible here: Lara with guns in Underworld outfit Here is a more recent Underworld piece with a more accurate rendering of her new outfit. Clicky here! Here's my latest and what I think is my best Underworld drawing so far. Please take a look! Here are links to most of the Legend pieces I've done (among them my hand-drawn avatar) Lara vs Amanda Lara on the line Lara in evening gown Lara in bikini Lara Croft legend Also, I've done one Anniversary drawing so far. http://jedd-the-jedi.deviantart.com/art/La...eaping-74839204 Please enjoy and comment here or on devart!!!

I wonder if anyone can get more images of that particular outfit from off the internet. I'd like some reference material for fanart.

I've recently begun downloading and printing the scans of the Top Cow comics from way back when and must say I am quite impressed with them. The scans are available at a Russian fansite here: http://tombraider.ru/comics/original/index.html How many of you have read the comics or are fans of them?

Crown of Utama Chapter 15 – DOCKING BAY The water began to churn beneath Lara and Alex as the New Genesis turned away. It felt like something between a storm and a whirlpool, and one which was beyond Lara’s power to combat. Desperate, she reached for her magnetic grapple device. The cable shot out, the super-strong electromagnetic head attached to the hull of the boat. Lara wrapped her arms around Alex, who was finding it hard to stay afloat as well. The winched whirred, but the tiny electric motor was unable to combat the surge of the water. The tip snapped back, defeated. “Have a Plan B?!” Alex asked over the raging water. Lara glanced at the ship leaving them behind. She thought back to the schematics she had briefly glimpsed while on board. Would it work? She shook ahead and decided it would be their only chance. “Dive,” she commanded Alex. “What?!” he asked bewildered. Lara went down and he took a deep breath and decided to follow anyway. The water beneath them continued to churn, but somehow it felt better than struggling to stay afloat. The low visibility in the murky ocean was made worse by the incessant bubbling. Still though, the looming hull of the New Genesis was hard to miss. If entering from the top did not work, maybe coming in from below might, Lara had thought to herself. The large propeller of the supertanker whirled ominously, trying its best to pull them in. Lara and Alex avoided it. Now that they were closer to the ship, the churning caused by the mysterious aura from the crown had more or less ceased. Lara wondered how much longer she could hold her breath. She was used to staying for longer-than-usual periods underwater, but the sting of the saltwater was burning her eyes. She glanced upwards, and was relieved to find light pouring in from what seemed to be a large, rectangular opening in the bottom of the ship. She pointed upwards, and Alex formed an “ok” using the international diver’s sign language. They surfaced. Meanwhile, Lynn was in the bridge, smiling to herself. She was hoping to savour the moment of Lara and Alex’s defeat. “Boss, something I think you should take a look at.” Lynn strode over to one of the banks of monitors that showed feed from the ship’s surveillance cameras. The man who had called this to her attention pointed to a screen labelled “submersible docking bay C” Lynn peered at the screen, unable to believe her eyes. The grainy footage showed Lara and Alex bobbing up and down in the patch of water. “Shall I close the bay doors ma’am?” the man asked. “I’ve got one better,” Lynn scowled. Lara took a moment to take in her surroundings. Apparently, she was in a submersible docking bay. She glanced up and saw a submersible suspended on a rig overhead. It was unlike anything Lara had ever seen, sleek and advanced. It was also rather large, an anomaly among craft of the type. The craft was, in fact, a heavily modified version of the Blotniak, a one-man wet-cabin type submersible. It had been modified to fit two pilots and was a dry-cabin model instead. Lara heard the distinct mechanical sound of a catch releasing. She glanced above her, and then yelled “Alex!” A panic-stricken look across his face, Alex made for the sides of the pool as fast as he could, as did Lara. The submersible seemed to fall in slow motion, making its impact felt. The harsh splash of water stung Lara’s face. The mammoth submersible bobbed up and down in the water, the churning of the bubbles around it beginning to die down. The logo of Rose Well Shipping International stared Lara in the face, as if mocking her. Alex began to climb out of the docking bay. “Not there,” Lara said, pointing to the submersible. Alex smiled and nodded, swimming over to it. Lynn observed the scene from the command bridge and swore under her breath. “Don’t let them leave alive,” she said, barely concealing the venom in her voice. “Use whatever means necessary.” Lara and Alex unlatched the cockpit and climbed into the craft. It was surprisingly roomy, unlike most other submersibles in the market. She took a moment to familiarize herself with the controls. “You know how to drive one of these things?” Alex asked quizzically. “I might,” Lara replied smiling. She pushed a button and the cockpit closed. All of a sudden, armed guards burst through the door on the far side of the docking bay. “Over there!” their leader pointed. They began opening fire incessantly, but to no avail. The bullets made small dents but were unable to penetrate the toughened bodywork of the craft. Lara reached for a switch, and a barrage of machinegun bullets was released from the submersible’s in-built turret. Alex was surprised at the craft’s capabilities. Lara toggled the depth gauge and they were ready to descend. “Damn,” he muttered. “We’ve lost them,” the leader of the guards spoke into his microphone. “No matter,” Lynn growled, saliva speckling her lips. “Send the other subs after them.” The submersible sailed through the water, its twin propellers spinning like clockwork. Alex leant back in the modified Blotniak. Lara pushed on the joystick, propelling the submersible through the depths. She flicked a switch and two high-powered headlamps flashed on, illuminating the water in front of them. Lara looked closely at the joystick. A label indicated a switch for missiles. “Better and better,” she smiled. “Not better,” Alex said, looking over his shoulder. “We’ve got serious company.” Two missiles whizzed by, leaving a trail of bubbles in their wake and narrowly missing the submersible. Lara glanced in the rear-view monitor to find they had been shot by a similar submersible, now in hot pursuit. More missiles came at them. Lara turned the submersible around on a dime, firing two successive shots. They hit their target, turning the pursuing submersible into a ball of flame that was quickly quenched. Bubbles fizzed to the surface and the submersible sunk to the abyss. Lara had no time to savour her victory; however, as two more submersibles began closing in on her. Unwilling to repeat the failure of its predecessors, the submersibles swerved stealthily. They launched their projectiles in quick succession, but succeeded in doing nothing more than scaring away a school of fish. Lara was pushing the modified Blotniak to its limits. Another missile scraped the logo off the side of Lara’s submersible. She hoped it was somehow symbolic of the corporation’s defeat. Apparently, Lara’s adversaries had realized that they were going about this the wrong way. Divers dressed in what looked like Navy SEAL frogman suits swam up to the submersible. They were palming circular devices. “Damn, limpet mines!” Alex realized. “You know what this means,” Lara said, reaching for a button. Alex took in a gulp of air. Lara opened the cockpit and they swam out as fast as they could. The frogmen attached the mines a second too late. The submersible blew up beneath them, as they kicked desperately to the surface. The heat radiated through the icy ocean in a surreal manner. Lara’s hand closed in on a button on her belt. They bobbed uncertainly in the water, waiting for help to arrive. Sure enough, the Gulfstream V swooped in overhead. Relieved, Lara shot the grapple into the air and she and Alex were pulled to safety. The frogmen surfaced and pointed upwards in frenzy. Lara glanced down and winked. Alex closed the Gulfstream’s door behind him and breathed. He then slumped himself in one of the seats and closed his eyes. In the meantime, Lara was anticipating what she hoped would be their very last meeting with Lynn Tan.

I thought the Legend outfits were not that bad though. I'd like to see Lara in a well-designed skimpy outfit! Drool.