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.

I just did an Underworld-based piece accessible here: http://jedd-the-jedi.deviantart.com/art/La...rworld-73660898 EDIT: Here is a more recent Underworld piece with a more accurate rendering of her new outfit. http://jedd-the-jedi.deviantart.com/art/La...rworld-74163171 EDIT: I reeeeally wish I could double post and bump the thread up, but anyway here's my latest and what I think is my best Underworld drawing so far. Please take a look!

Thanks so much! Well, it is the only TR game I've played.

Crown of Utama Chapter 14 The New Genesis was classified as a Very-Large Crude Carrier, the official shipping term for a supertanker. In practice, such ships were used to carry crude oil, up to two million barrels at a time, but Lara knew this one was different. On the surface, however, the New Genesis was as ordinary as any tanker could get. It was 300 metres long and about half a football field wide. Lara and Alex crossed a narrow, stark white corridor characteristic of such ships. They were utterly out of place in their jumpsuits and knew they would be dealt with on-sight. Making it slightly worse was the fact that neither knew their way around the gargantuan ship. Moving swiftly down the hallway, Lara was relieved to find a door marked “uniforms”. Lara and Alex moved quickly, kitting themselves up in the same attire that the other men and women on the ship donned. “Now, to where?” Alex asked Lara. “We’ll figure it out,” she muttered as they continued walking. The hallways seemed to go on forever. Lara knew she had to somehow make it to Lynn’s private quarters, either that or the command bridge of the ship. She knew the crown would be kept safely where Lynn could keep her eyes on it. Lynn peered into the monitor in front of her, showing Alex and Lara’s entrance some minutes ago. She was in the bridge of the ship, which was unlike any other. It was state-of-the-art, lined with more control banks and monitors than a supertanker ought to have. “So they’re in,” she sneered. “All the better. Least I won’t have to find test subjects.” The corners of her mouth twisted into an evil smile. Lara and Alex entered the ship’s galley where various crew members were having their lunch. The space was large and minimalist, reminding Lara of a prison’s mess hall. Perhaps she would be able to find some clues here. Lara got into the line, with Alex behind him. She deftly nicked a security pass from the pocket of the man in front of her. She reached the front of the line and helped herself to the items on offer that day. There were twenty or so people in the galley. Lara figured that the staff needed would not necessarily be large. Most supertankers could be manned by just one person after all. Lara took her plate and sat down, Alex next to her. Lara inspected the pass, turning it over in her hands. The card would doubtless offer her access to areas she would otherwise be unable to reach. “What you got there?” Alex asked, peering over Lara’s shoulder. He smiled. “Ah, playing Artful Dodger are we?” Lara frowned. “Quiet Alex.” Lara reached into a pouch in the uniform and pulled out her wallet. She kept a few spare passport-sized photographs in it, and glued one over the photograph of the man in the security pass. She put the pass aside and ate quickly, surveying the galley as she did so. Lara finished and put the plate in a nearby rack. She glanced around and saw that most of the personnel had now left the galley. Her eyes narrowed. It could well be a trap. Lara left the galley with Alex following her. The maze of corridors had to lead somewhere. Lara passed by a room and tapped the security pass at the sensor. The door beeped and they entered. The room was actually just a stairwell, its walls covered with flaking yellow paint. Humming could be heard in the distance. Lara and Alex proceeded all the way down. As they reached the bottom of the stairwell, they found themselves inside the ship’s engine room where most of the ship’s major machinery was located. The engine room was an unpleasant space, hot noisy, grimy and – as Lara was quick to remind herself – potentially dangerous. Generators whirred, and fuel purifiers gurgled. Across from the room was a small air-conditioned control room from which most of the machinery was operated. Lara decided that would be where she was headed. It was imperative to disable the ship at all costs, hopefully stalling Lynn’s progress. Lara strode across to the room, tapping her security pass once again. The operator glanced nonchalantly in her direction. Lara delivered a kick to the unsuspecting man’s head, rendering him unconscious. She then surveyed the controls, looking for the switch which would disable the main engines. The lights were suddenly switched off, throwing the galley into pitch darkness “What the…” Alex yelled. Lara flicked on her personal light source, illuminating the space in front of her. She drew her pistols and opened fire, though at what or at whom Lara didn’t know for sure. A silver glint caught Lara’s eye, and she ducked just in time to avoid the blade of a katana – a sword similar to the kind employed by the ancient Samurai. Lara spun round, delivering a roundhouse kick to her assailant. He dodged it. The man obviously had training and was probably schooled in the ninja arts. The sword then sliced through a bank of controls, sending small sparks into the air. Using ninjas to dispatch of her marked a new high in the amount of oddities she had encountered on this trip. The assailant could have easily dispatched of Lara but simply knocked her out. Alex received the same treatment. The men nodded to each other and dragged Lara and Alex out of the control room. When they came to, they found themselves in the command bridge. Lara and Alex found themselves with their hands bound behind their backs and kneeling on the floor. Lynn Tan stood before them, holding the crown in her hands. The crown glistened in the low light of the bridge. “Lynn,” Lara spat. “The crown. Why go to this much trouble to get your hands on it?” Lynn simply smiled. “You will be rewarded with a demonstration in due time. But first Lady Croft, I have to inform you that your…antics in Singapore and Bangkok have cost me a great deal of time and money.” “If only we had cost you more…” Alex scowled. “All that will soon be resolved. I’m sure, Lady Croft, that you of all people know that knowledge is power.” “And as with all the delusionals with whom I’ve dealt, you aim to become a god.” Lynn ignored her. “So I decided some reading up would do me good. I started with my favourite subject – ancient South-East Asian history. Then I came across the crown, and with a little bit of educated guessing deduced the powers it holds. What use is knowledge if not applied? The water spirit which was finally satiated when Utama’s crown was thrown into the water has the ability to create freak weather phenomena.” “And how would you find that useful?” “If you recall, I am in the shipping business. And bad weather tends to be bad for business – the business of my various rival companies, that is. I can summon the sinking of all other ships that paddle the international lines, leaving Rose Well Shipping the uncontested champion.” “You’re insane,” Alex spat. Lynn slowly shook her head. “There is a fine line between insanity and genius. And now, the demonstration I was talking about earlier.” Two burly men hauled Alex and Lara to their feet, marching them out onto the deck. The sea was choppy and unwelcoming. Lynn exited the bridge behind them, slowly reciting an incantation in ancient Arabic. An unearthly green aura seemed to emit from the crown, floating menacingly into the ocean. It bubbled ferociously at the point of entry. Lara and Alex were pushed into the ocean, which was becoming increasingly tumultuous. “See this as consolation,” Lynn yelled over the edge of the ship. “At least in your dying moments you will be immersed in the power of a priceless artifact!” With that, she went back into the bridge. “We’re officially in deep water,” Alex sighed.

So we've seen the new black tank top Lara will be wearing in Underworld. What do you think of it, and what other outfits would you like to see Lara put on?

Crown of Utama Chapter 13 Lara entered her room. It felt strange to back in the hotel after only a couple of hours. Then again, those couple of hours was as harrowing as they could get. The crown, her laptop and most hope of finishing the race as the victor had disappeared. The only consolation was that now they knew who the enemy was. That, and that the tracer was still transmitting. Lara pulled out her PDA. The location of the faint blip was now just off the port of Bangkok. At the bottom of the screen, a message alerted Lara that Zip was online. “Progress report. What you got?” Zip asked in a carefree tone. “‘Progress’ isn’t exactly the word I’d use, Zip” Lara sighed. She related the entire incident to Zip over the PDA’s microphone. “Ouch. Bad guys have the crown.” “Not if I have something to say about it,” Lara replied, her eyes lighting up. “Looks like we’ll be leaving Thailand soon. Alex, get packing.” A half-hour later, the pair had checked out of the Peninsula hotel, strolling across the lobby and out the door. A hotel limousine took them back to Suvarnabhumi Airport. Alex and Lara entered the terminal. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex noticed a man in a dark suit raising his hand to his ear. He decided to shake off the thought and proceeded forwards. The man he had just spied spoke quietly in Thai. “They’re here,” he said, before disappearing into a shop nearby. Pulling their luggage along with them, Alex and Lara were almost out of the main terminal. The sharp shattering of a glass window pane behind them stopped them in their tracks. Two men appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, holding deadly USP Match pistols. The sight sent the crowd running helter-skelter. Airport security personnel attempted to stop them, but were met with a bullet in the chest each. Lara’s eyes narrowed. “Airport shootout,” Alex growled. Lara somersaulted, dodging the assassins’ bullets. She pulled out the RGP pistols for what she hoped would be the last time that day. The airport was taking incredible collateral damage. Ceramic pots holding plants shattered and the LCD screens hanging above the various airlines’ check-in counters fell to the floor. Alex ducked into a souvenir store, with Lara following suit. The men crouched low, scanning the airport. By now, most of the tourists in the area were leaving or proceeding into the concourse. Lara’s pursuer entered the shop. A shelf filled with boxed Thai snacks fell in a sputter of bullets. The man’s head snapped around. He was a trained assassin, and being outfoxed by a woman would be a great shame. He inched around the rows of shelves, past a rack of magazines. Alex came out behind him, putting him in a choke hold. Lara toppled a rack of magnets onto the assailant. The nervous lady at the cahier ducked, avoiding the skirmish of bullets from the man’s partner who had just entered the shop. A well placed shot disarmed the man, who cried out as his gun clattered to the tiled floor. Alex leapt out, pinning him to the ground. The man was soon knocked unconscious. “Let’s go,” Lara said to Alex. A terse announcement was audible over the PA system, first in Thai and then in accented English. Before the announcer could finish, a thick cloud of smoke formed. The attackers began choking. Through the cloud, Lara could see Thai Special Forces moving into the airport. She decided to let them deal with their attackers and ran towards the concourse where their aircraft was parked. Lara was relieved to be inside the Gulfstream V once again, but knew it was no time to relax. She briefed the pilot on the procedure that would soon take place. It was not one to usually happen on luxury private jets of course, but Lara was never one to stick to convention. The pilot nodded, expressionless. Nothing could faze anyone who had worked with the Countess. Lara walked to the back of the plane where the equipment was stowed. The craft began to rumble down the tarmac. Lara was glad to leave Bangkok behind. The land of smiles was certainly not as friendly as she hoped. The craft entered up into the stratosphere, travelling through a lattice of clouds. The boats below appeared as mere dots out the rounded windows of the Gulfstream. One of them was the New Genesis, as a few taps on the keyboard of another one of Lara’s laptops revealed. The New Genesis was the ultimate destination for the helicopter that had “abducted” Lynn Tan earlier on. It was a standard-sized supertanker registered to Rose Well Shipping International, carrying cargo but no doubt modified to serve Lynn’s means, whatever those were. The supertanker was also Lara and Alex’s destination. How they were going to get there was something different altogether. The plane was now several thousand feet in the air. This was going to have to be as precise as it could get. Lara inspected the suit she would be getting into. It was developed by Zip, who had tested it himself. This fact gave Lara little comfort, but at least she was not as reluctant as Alex was. He sulked, flipping off the television set. Both of them had gone skydiving and BASE jumping before. Lara had even leapt off the Two-ifc in Hong Kong some years back. But this was a whole new experience. Some minutes later, Lara and Alex emerged kitted out in the specialized precision skydiving suit. They looked utterly out of place in the plush surroundings of the Gulfstream. In Lara’s mind, though, there was little difference between jumping from this plane and from a Hercules C-130. Lara opened the door. Unlike what was commonly depicted in films, the cabin did not rapidly depressurize. The pilot glanced behind and gave Lara a thumbs-up. The wind blew wildly in her hair. “You sure about this?” Alex asked, peeking over the edge. Lara smiled and pushed him out of the craft. His yell reverberated through the thin air. Lara leapt, splaying her arms and legs. The air seemed to still, even though Lara was plummeting at an unimaginable rate. She glanced at her altimeter. The ships in the water below came towards her, albeit slowly. Lara saw Alex deploy his chute some distance beneath her. At the designated deployment-altitude, Lara pulled her pilot-chute from the bottom of her backpack rig. The pilot-chute caught the wind, pulling the pin out of the closing loop and releasing Lara’s deployment bag. The parachute lines yanked loose, and the canopy began to open. The safety mechanism known as a slider slowed the opening of the chute. Lara braced herself for the few seconds of intense deceleration, while the parachute slowed her descent. Lara pulled on a bar and the parachute was released, catching the wind and falling into the sea behind. The last segment of the jump would be accomplished using the jetpack that Zip had developed. Lara took a precious couple of seconds to grapple with the jetpack’s controls, and then brought herself down to a soft landing on the deck of the New Genesis. Across the deck sat the same helicopter which “abducted” Lynn Tan earlier. At least this confirmed they were in the right spot. Alex was already waiting for her. “That was fun,” Lara said. “Into the belly of the beast,” she smiled. Alex shook his head and followed her into the supertanker. Unbeknownst to them, a tiny concealed surveillance camera swiveled slowly, following their movements.

Upcoming action indeed! I aim to please. Crown of Utama Chapter 12 Lynn struggled as two burly figures secured her in the helicopter. “What do you want with me?” She asked, frightened. The man sitting across her removed his mask. “Relax; you can drop the act now.” He was the man who had been spying on Lara and Alex the night before. Lynn’s expression immediately softened, turning into a smile. “You did well,” she told him. “I’m almost certain our “Ms Ryder” is actually Lara Croft. She actually pulled out her guns!” She chuckled softly. “She’s still fairly intelligent though. It won’t be long before she figures what’s going on. We have the crown; get rid of her and her pesky boyfriend as fast as you can.” The man nodded. “Chai,” he answered, smiling. Lynn spoke into a radio device instructing the security forces to prevent Lara and Alex from leaving the building. The helicopter banked sharply and headed away from the city. Alex stood gaping, staring at the shattered skylight. “So they’ve got the Crown, they have our laptop and they’ve kidnapped Lynn. The day is going better than I initially imagined.” Lara frowned. “You’ve got the first two right…I think Lynn kidnapped herself.” “Yet another one of those Remington Steele clichés,” Alex sighed. “Blake was almost definitely working for – or with – his cousin. The assailants blasted through the roof just when we were asking about him. They also headed straight for the crown and deliberately avoided injuring Lynn.” Lara glanced up at a security camera turning to face them. “And I think security believes we’re responsible.” Alex rolled his eyes. “As is always. So what’s the escape plan this time?” Lara reached down and toggled the grappling device on her belt. She smiled, and Alex frowned. “No, not this again!” Lara looked out of the shattered window and worked out the angles. She frowned slightly. “I think this time you may be right. I only have 30 ft of the cable.” She walked slowly towards the window and glanced down at the large banner of Lynn’s face along with the Rose Well shipping logo that covered the façade. “Unless…” “Oh hell, no!” Alex exclaimed. The armed guards that had just burst through the door prevented anymore questions. Lara jumped and Alex followed, landing on the small ledge just below Lynn’s office. Lara and Alex hurriedly undid the rigging that secured the banner to the building. Lara looked Alex in the eye, and he nodded nervously. Bullets whizzed above their heads as they took the leap of faith. This time would be far riskier than the jump from the shipping container they attempted in Singapore. Lara and Alex held on tightly as they rode down, tearing the banner from the top down. Alex yelled as the wind ripped through his hair. Onlookers pointed at the two farangs travelling down the banner and shouted excitedly in Thai. The banner finally reached its limits. On Lara’s count, they released they’re gripped and fell through the awning, greeted by a surprised doorman. “Sa wat dee kha,” Lara smiled. The doorman stood there, stunned. “Let’s go,” she said to Alex. “Bphai Nai!?” A security guard demanded. What looked like a private army emerged behind him. “Away from here,” Lara replied. She took out one of the fragmentation grenades, removed the pin and threw it at the guards. Lara and Alex decided not to stay to watch the aftermath running into a crowd of stunned onlookers. As they ran, Lara doffed her jacket. “Now is not the time for a striptease,” Alex said. Lara shot him an ugly look and handed him her glasses. They slowed down, now indistinguishable from the crowd. This would buy them but a few precious minutes. Lara and Alex managed to squeeze through the crowd into Khao San road, Bangkok’s backpacker’s mecca. Tuk-tuks buzzed leisurely through the streets, and stalls hawking imitation goods and random souvenirs spilled into the street. Apart from their minor injuries from the encounter with the assailants, Lara and Alex blended in nicely into the mix of backpackers and more up-market tourists. All of a sudden, Lara heard something that rendered her sick to the stomach. It was the sound of the helicopter rotors again and, craning her neck, Lara noticed the craft casting an ominous shadow on the street. Onlookers pointed up, surprised to see a helicopter flying this low. Lara’s reaction was less of surprise and more of scorn. The craft was a tiny, one-man “Little Bird”, used as a patrol chopper by the American Air force. This one was devoid of markings and modified slightly. Alex could see two concealed machinegun barrels built into craft. The pilot was devoid of emotion, his face mostly obscured by the helmet he wore. He banked the helicopter sharply forward and brought it close enough to the ground to cause panic. Some of the backpackers yelled and ran back into the hostels that lined the streets. The pilot began firing. Bullet holes riddled the road, some destroying the makeshift roadside stalls in the process. Several Thai vendors were gunned down mercilessly. Lara and Alex ran as fast as they could away from the helicopter. Lara reached for her RGP pistols, then thought of a better idea. “Hold on,” she instructed Alex. They backtracked unexpectedly, now directly underneath the helicopter. The pilot was momentarily confused, and that moment was all Lara and Alex needed. The distinctive whirr of the grapple device’s motor was barely audible, masked by the noise of the helicopter rotors. The super-strong magnetic head wrapped itself around the sleds of the helicopter, and Alex and Lara ascended. Now right beside the bulbous cockpit, Lara looked the stunned pilot right in the eye. Several shots from her pistol penetrated the toughened glass and killed the pilot. The pilot slouched forwards, unsteadying the helicopter. Lara and Alex attempted a tricky maneuver – getting into the helicopter. Alex made his way to the other side of the craft and pried the door open, getting in first. Lara hauled the pilot out of his seat, throwing his corpse onto the floor, much to the shock of the onlookers. Finally, the both of them were in the cockpit. Its controls were simpler than that of the Colibri they employed earlier in the mission. Lara pulled the helicopter away from Khao San Street and headed back towards the Peninsula hotel. “Damn, that was close,” Alex, crammed into the seat next to Lara, muttered. However, Lara soon found herself pursued by two similar helicopters. “They always insist on doing bloody dogfights,” Lara said. The two helicopters released their barrage of ammunition, which Lara skillfully dodged. She reversed the helicopter so that it was now behind her two mid-air pursuers. Lara managed to take out the tail rotor of one, sending the tiny chopper spinning to its inadvertent doom. The glow from the small explosion confirmed that Lara had succeeded. There was, however, still the matter of the one remaining helicopter. Lara led it into a narrow street, walled on both sides by tall office buildings. The pursuing helicopter struggled to stay aloft, its bullets shattering the glass façade of both skyscrapers. The Thai businessman in the street below them ran for cover. Flying a helicopter in these tight quarters was, however, something of a challenge even to Lara Croft. Fortunately, she managed to throw the Little Bird sufficiently off-course. It rammed into the office building, engulfing its side with fire. Some minutes later, the battered helicopter came in to land atop the Peninsula Hotel’s private helipad. Lara and Alex stepped out, greeted by the gaping-mouthed technician. “Long story,” Lara smiled as she descended into the hotel proper.

Thank you so much for your kind words. My brother said that the story was lingering too long in one place, so I moved the story to Bangkok. Chapters 10 and 11 follow: Crown of Utama Chapter 10 – ARRIVAL IN KRUNG THEP With the help of Ahmad and his SOF superiors, Alex and Lara were granted permission to leave Singapore. And not a moment too soon, Lara thought morosely. What was meant to be a routine excavation and a rare public appearance for the Countess ended up in her and Alex nearly being killed three to four times. Lara gazed out the window of her executive jet, a state-of-the-art Gulfstream V. The city lights glowed beautifully in the late evening. Now that there would be some peace and quiet for a change, Lara could piece everything together. And if her suspicions were right, this was all about the unassuming crown in the pack she was cradling in her arms. “In the lap of luxury…this is more like it!” Alex smiled as he stretched his legs and reclined in the multi-position seat. He sipped chilled Moet et Chandon champagne from a flute, clearly enjoying himself. “Pity they don’t have martinis up here,” he sighed, reaching for the controls to the 42-inch plasma television mounted on the cabin wall. The theme from 2006’s “Casino Royale” began to play in the background of the DVD menu page. Sitting across from him, Lara pulled out her PDA and made a list of what she had gathered so far. After that, she made a call to Rose Well Shipping’s head office in Bangkok. “Yes, Vesper Ryder from ‘The Businesswoman’ magazine. I’d like to schedule an interview with your CEO Ms Tan…is tomorrow available? My editor plans to put her on the cover of next month’s issue… No, I will be coming with my photojournalist colleague Sean Dalton…we’ll be at the Peninsula Hotel…thank you very much sir.” Lara stowed the phone away. Alex turned to her. “So pretending to be a journalist again?” Alex asked. That was Lara’s alibi the very first time the two met in the Himalayas. Lara nodded, smiling slightly. “All business and no pleasure, Croft,” Alex sighed in mock contempt. “If you think that line is going to help you join the mile-high club, Alex, you’re gravely mistaken.” Lara replied, straight-faced. “Who ever said anything about that?” Alex shrugged half-innocent. A short while later, the wheels of the Gulfstream touched the tarmac at the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The architecture was modern and astounding, but Lara found the internal layout of the airport bare and nothing to shout about. Lara and Alex quickly cleared customs and immigrations and were out of the airport in no time, a privilege Lara’s status afforded her. Once in the arrivals hall, Lara and Alex blended in with all the farang tourists, barely distinguishable. The City of Angels was, in fact, as hectic and noisy as any modern metropolis, no thanks to the humid air. The weather was similar to that in Singapore, only slightly heavier. A limousine marked with the logo of the luxury Peninsula hotel pulled up outside the terminal, standing out like a sore thumb amongst the run-of-the-mill tuk-tuks and taxis that crowded the area, hoping to pick a tourist to a hotel in the city. The limousine driver stepped out. He was casually dressed, young and had slicked-back black hair. The placard he held bore Alex and Lara’s aliases: MS VESPER RYDER AND MR SEAN DALTON. “Sounds like us,” Alex smiled, casually walking towards the limousine. The equipment Ahmad had given her much earlier in the day was well-concealed in a hidden compartment in her backpack, along with the precious artifact. The limousine cruised through dimly-lit streets, passing shabby apartments and modern office buildings squashed side-by-side. Telephone pylons and satellite towers were everywhere, as cluttered as the cityscape itself. Lara noticed a large building with a portrait of a bespectacled man wearing an open-necked yellow shirt – the Thai King – on the facade. Everyone wore yellow on Monday in honour of the King. The car then squeezed down a ramp, brushing past food stalls and shrubs in a dense, chaotic part of town. Traffic police tried desperately to maintain order, but the shrill shrieks of their whistles made the atmosphere worse. The limousine turned a corner, leaving one side of the city and entering the rich, opulent district where the Peninsula Hotel was situated. It was as if they had stumbled through a looking glass. “Here we are,” the driver announced in heavily accented English. “Nice,” Alex said, his eyes scanning the façade. It was tall and majestic, in many ways completely different yet very much the same as the Fullerton Hotel. As they drew up at the entrance, half a dozen men in immaculate white uniforms hurried forward to help. “Michael Jackson’s backup dancers,” Alex quipped, as Lara frowned. The man doesn’t know the meaning of respect, she thought to herself. The chilly environment created by the air-conditioning added to the welcome. Alex and Lara crossed a wide marble floor towards the reception area, “Diamonds Are Forever” tinkling on the piano somewhere in the background. The smiling receptionist handed Lara and Alex two garlands, as she bowed in greeting. Lara bowed in return, and Alex followed suit. The lift they entered was about the size of a room itself, and when they left the lift they were on the twenty-first floor. A few minutes later, Lara stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, taking in the vista spread before her. Alex was taking a bath in the luxury bathroom. The city was spread out on the other side of a wide river, its brown colouration slightly off-putting. Skyscrapers towered in the far distance, among them the main office of Rose Well Shipping International. Nearer by, there were hotels, Buddhist temples, well-preserved ancient palaces with perfect grassy lawns and – standing right by them – slum houses, shacks and long-forgotten warehouses in all manner of dilapidation. Lara sighed, wondering what this uncertain land would hold. She glanced over to the bedside table where she had placed the Crown of Utama. Earlier on, she had taken photographs of it from every imaginable angle, allowing Zip to create a 3D reconstruction of the object. Whilst waiting for Alex to finish, Lara quickly set up shop. The internet connection was not exactly affordable, but that was of little concern to Lara. She hooked up the web-cam and waited for Zip to get online back at the manor. Zip’s image flashed onscreen, as Alex emerged from the bathroom, a low-slung towel wrapped around his waist. “Hello Zip,” Lara began. “Do you have the data?” “As always, Lara,” Zip replied. He tapped on the keyboard in front of him and the image on Lara’s laptop monitor was replaced by a slowly rotating, high-resolution diagram of the Crown of Utama. “I’ve checked your reference material on Ancient Arabic and it seems the glyphs don’t say anything too special. They just spell out his name, Sri Tri Buana.” Alister’s voice was soon audible in the background. “Sri Tri Buana is Sang Nila Utama’s birth name. The way I see it, this crown was the one that was finally able to satiate the water spirit.” “So, anyone who gets a hold of it can control the weather!” Alex said. “I was darn right all along.” “That is a tad far-fetched, Alex…even by my standards,” Alister considered. “But with all this business that’s been happening so far, especially this shipping company, it may just be the truth…” Lara said. On the other side of the river, atop a skyscraper hundreds of yards away, a black clad figure stood, looking though a powerful scope. He adjusted the focus until the image of Lara and Alex bent over the laptop was crystal clear. “See if you can get what they’re viewing on that computer,” a voice said through the headset he wore. “Chai,” the man spying on them replied. He was hardly noticeable, a small silhouette dwarfed by the building which was his temporary base of operations. He flipped open a laptop and tapped on the keyboard, skillfully hacking into Lara’s network. He was able to catch a brief glimpse of the detailed crown diagram before Lara went offline, and the glimpse was he would need. That image would now be safely stored in his employer’s database. “Yaawt,” the voice in his ear chuckled. The man smiled. His boss was pleased, and he would be receiving a decent sum soon. As he packed up, he wondered why he had not been asked to kill the targets. He shrugged and disappeared down the roof access. Crown of Utama Chapter 11 – INTERVIEW Lara awoke, the soft rays of the Thai sun flooding their luxurious suite in the Peninsula Hotel. Just outside the window, Lara could see boats of all kinds making their way up and down the wide, brown river. She rubbed her eyes, sitting up in the bed. This time, she was the first to awake. Alex was still sleeping soundly next to her. Lara wasted no time in getting dressed and packing for the day. She was “Vesper Ryder” now, an alias that Zip had cooked up for her. Lara sipped the bottled mineral water – it was unwise to drink any other kind in Thailand – as she switched her laptop computer on and ran through her pretend biography again. Vesper Ryder – senior journalist, The BusinessWoman Magazine. Tall, dark-haired, bespectacled. IQ of 140. Born 1980 in London, England. First job as intern with The Daily Mirror. Single, often works with photojournalist colleague Sean Dalton. Renowned for in-depth interviews of successful female business figures, including Gail McGovern and Olivia Lum. Lara smiled. She looked at herself in the mirror – she had on a smart suit over a low-cut blouse, and was wearing glasses – looking quite different from her usual self. By this time, Alex had already awoken. “Rise and shine, Sean Dalton,” Lara said. She handed him a Nikon SLR. Alex felt the weight of the camera in his hands and frowned. “Can I at least put a shirt on first?” he asked. Several minutes later, Lara and Alex sat opposite each other in the hotel’s large buffet hall. The hotel offered a sumptuous spread that included just about every type of cuisine – English, French, Vietnamese, Thai – with dishes ranging from pho, a traditional beef noodle soup, to eggs and bacon. Lara laid out the order of the day in-between dainty mouthfuls of stir-fried noodles. “Here’s the plan. We get into Lynn’s office, ask the questions from the list, sneak in one or two about Blake and possibly the Crown, then we bolt.” Alex nodded. After they had finished breakfast, Lara and Alex were sitting in a tuk-tuk heading down Chinatown on the other side of the river. Lara held on tightly to her handbag, the Crown among its contents. Lara could not risk leaving it in the hotel room. Bangkok’s Chinatown seemed to have a ceiling of banners, billboards, a tangle of electric cables and a myriad of neon signs. Alex was relieved when they made it out and headed towards the gleaming building that was the head office of Rose Line Shipping International. Lara paid the fare and bowed to the driver, who returned the gesture. Alex and Lara entered the automatic glass doors, into a world that belonged with the Peninsula Hotel. Smartly-dressed men and women sat around the lobby of the building, absently reading the business section of the local English newspaper or keeping an eye on the LCD display of stock trends. Lara and Alex approached the receptionist, a young, inexperienced-looking Thai lady. “Sawaat de Kaat,” she greeted Lara. “How do I helps you?” Lara smiled, presenting the pass Zip had made for her and Alex. “I’m here to interview Ms Lynn Tan. Vesper Ryder, BusinessWoman magazine. I made a call yesterday, remember?” The receptionist frowned slightly and tapped at the keyboard in front of her, before smiling again. “Khaa! Ms Ryder and Mr Dalton. Up the elevator at the ends of the corridor, please,” she said, handing Alex a security pass. “Khawaap koon,” Alex thanked her. He flipped the security pass in the air and followed Lara down the hallway. He tapped the security pass at the private elevator leading up to Lynn’s office. The car arrived, and they entered. The elevator was about the size of the one in the hotel, and a beautiful Thai painting hung on the wall. Lara also noticed perfectly-concealed security cameras. They finally reached the 61st floor, where Lynn’s executive office was. The lift opened into a luxurious reception area, with windows on either side offering fantastic panoramas of the city. In-between the windows were framed copies of the many magazine and newspaper articles in which Lynn Tan had appeared. “She’s got as much an ego as the other corporate creeps we’ve come across,” Alex muttered softly. Lara couldn’t agree more. In her time, she had dealt with such figures as Jacqueline Natla and Jonathan Riess, and had learned that evil usually came as the side dish with the main course that was power. Still, it was far too early to conclude if Lynn Tan was the mastermind they were hunting. Interrupting her thoughts, the door opened. Lynn Tan stood on the other side, smiling. “Ms. Ryder, Mr Dalton! Welcome, right on time.” She handed each of them an exotic local cocktail of pineapple, orange and guava juice belnded with crushed ice. Lara and Alex returned the pleasantries; slightly taken aback at the hospitability they had been shown. Lynn Tan was a short, genial-looking middle-aged woman, the type who could’ve been anyone’s kindly aunt. Her complexion was well-maintained, and a few streaks of grey flecked her short hair. She welcomed “Ms. Ryder” and “Mr Dalton” into her office, and seated them down on luxury ergonomic office chairs on the other side of her desk. Lara smiled, trying to look as much as a journalist as she could. Alex thought she did look the part, with the glasses and the smart dressing, as well as the low-cut blouse offset by a simple pendant. Alex once again tried to avert his eyes, readying the camera he was utterly unfamiliar with. Lara got right down to business, passing Lynn her business card and then starting her pantheon of questions with a rather normal one to ask a corporate head honcho. “How do you feel now that Rose Line Shipping has grown to such status in a mere 20 years?” Lara had altered her accent to sound more like that of a London city girl than the aristocrat she was. Lynn smiled and answered the same question that she had hundreds of times before, but she tried not to show it. Lara continued, and soon the ice was broken. Alex couldn’t help but feel comfortable in the environment. Lynn seemed to make the large, open-plan office more of a friendly place. She then began to elaborate more on her childhood, talking about how she was born in a West Malaysian kampong and orphaned at an early age when her parents were injured in a car accident. The CEO managed to show just enough emotion while still maintaining her dignified air. Lynn then continued on how her aunt and uncle helped her move to Singapore, and mentioned her cousin Blake Tan. Lara’s eyes lit up. This is too easy for comfort, she thought to herself. Lara managed to smoothly slide in the question she had wanted to ask all along. “If I may, how do you feel knowing that your cousin was involved in the very recent kidnapping of Lady Lara Croft in Singapore?” Lynn suddenly became serious. She scrutinized Lara and asked, “forgive me, but I can’t help notice that you look a lot like her.” Lara had prepared for this, smiling and answering off-handedly “oh, I get that all the…” Before Lara could finish her sentence, she noticed rappel lines dropping in front of the large floor-to-ceiling glass window behind Lynn’s desk. Lara’s eyes narrowed, her hands reaching for the RGP pistols she had brought along. Black-clad figures wearing body armour and brandishing machine guns slid down the lines, swinging back and then smashing through the glass all at once. Lynn turned around, stunned, and yelled. The men opened fire, destroying the plush surroundings almost instantly. More assailants crashed through the skylight situated above the middle of the office. Lara turned round and opened fire. Alex helped out as well. Lynn reached under her table and activated a silent alarm. Guards soon entered the office but were swiftly dealt with by the attackers. Lara heard the recognizable sound of a helicopter’s rotor blades spinning. Tow of the assailants grabbed Lara’s handbag, in it her laptop and the precious Crown of Utama. “Bloody hell!” Lara yelled. A third assailant grabbed hold of a shrieking Lynn Tan and caught the line hanging from the helicopter. They were winched upwards as the craft flew away. Lara opened fire continuously but to no avail. Both she and Alex were mildly injured. They looked around the room, now a complete wreck. “Now what?” Alex asked. Lara sighed, putting her guns away and pulling out her GPS-equipped PDA. “Least we know where they’re taking her,” she said, observing the faint blip on her screen that was being transmitted from the tracer Zip had hidden in Lara’s business card.

Great stuff! I like the description, it really feels like Surrey. More please!

*rant warning* Yeah, I mean with that nasty combover, that horrible excuse for a reality TV series and one of the worse screen catch phrases since "yippie kai yay mother f***er", who is the trumpster to say anything? I mean, Angie has had rough times in her wild-child past, but look at all that she's done! She's devestatingly sexy too, how can he say she's not pretty? Darn you Trump! *rant over*

Sorry about that. Yeah, Id say I quite like it! It's a good idea, elaborating on the interaction between Kurtis, Lara and Zip.