As the old man said, Leo awoke in pain from the stiffness of his joints and was so weak and dehydrated. He began to cry, but he had no tears. His throat felt like sand paper. His mouth felt as if filled with gravel. He managed to roll on his back as Chango lit the skies with his lightning and shook the ground with thunder. As the rain came down, it was all the boy could do to open his mouth and drink as much rainwater as he could. Oya's winds began to bend the trees and whip the rain across his face. It was hard to focus, he felt so lightheaded. He was scared and cold. Then Ase's voice echoed in his head like a cannon, "COME TO ME CHILD, I CANT HELP YOU WHERE YOU ARE. REMEMBER WHAT I TOLD YOU, REMEMBER WHAT YOU MUST DO". Leo rolled to his side then struggled to his hands and knees. As in his dream, once again he found his voice. Rainwater streamed down his pain stricken face as he looked up to the stormy sky and uttered his first and the most dire words that would change his life forever....."Maferefun Ogun" (I offer myself to Ogun). With that utterance the Orisa Oya, governess of all wind and air, pulled the last breath from the lungs of the frail boy with a loud burst of air invoking the change. With a gasp, time stopped for just that moment as a pearly green and black vapor rose from the boy's eyes, mouth, ears and nostrils. Leo's near lifeless body levitated and shook violently as the vapor rose high above engulfing him and taking form. The boy's body vanished as a huge fist smashed against the ground sending a shock-wave throughout the forest and city. Where once knelt a frail and frightened Leonard Vast Jr., now stood a force of awesome Power.

........enter SUPERCEDE............to be continued