The Power of the Titan (2014)

[CardiMuscleman]

“Gentlemen, what you are about to witness is the ultimate test of strength”

For days, rumours had been whirling around Musketeer Headquarters as to why Captain Treville had asked all active Musketeers to gather in the main courtyard at midday on the longest day of the year. Some people thought that it was to select the newest cadets to join the corps, some people thought that the King was coming to confer some great honour, some even thought that D’Artangan was going to announce his engagement to the Queen’s maid, so the start of the Captain’s speech was a little strange

“For years” he continued, “you have all marvelled at the strength of Porthos. A man who has ripped oak trees out of the ground, a man who has wrestled the largest bull in Christendom to the ground and a man who would willingly give his life for the King and this country! Today, though, he will perform a test of strength that no man has ever performed before” and with that he nodded and Aramis raised a curtain revealing a cannon

“This, gentlemen, is Big Bessie, the largest and heaviest cannon ever to be built in this nation. The cannonballs it fires require two men just to load it” and with that he clicked his fingers and Athos and D’Artangan struggled out of the main building carrying a cannonball that was as big as their heads. After several moments they managed to load it into the cannon and mopped their brows.

“Note” continued the captain, “that is it sitting on a board that is twelve feet long and six feet wide” and with that he nodded again and Aramis, Athos, D’Artangan and several other Musketeers pulled on any number of pulleys and raised the cannon into the air. Just then, an almighty roar came from inside the main building and Porthos stomped out, his face redder than apples and his chest heaving and naked. He stomped down the steps and grunting, lay down under the board.

“DROP!” came the command and the men holding the cannon let it drop but before it reached Porthos’s chest, the titan shot two arms into the air and caught it. Huffing and puffing, he roared at the top of his voice and lifted the board and the cannon as far as his arms would allow him and started to count.

“ONE” he roared, “TWO” he grunted, “THREE” he shouted and then swore at the top of his voice.

“COME ON PORTHOS” shouted a Musketeer in the crowd, “SHOW THAT CANNON WHO THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD IS!”

That encouragement fuelled the fire in Porthos’s belly and he continued to lift.

“FOUR”

His chest was heaving, sweat was pouring off his face and his breathing was getting harder

“F…FIVE!”

“ONE MORE” screamed the crowd as one

Porthos lowered the cannon to his chest and taking a massive breath, gritted his teeth and yelled “MERDE!” as he lifted the cannon for a sixth time.

The Musketeers charged with holding the cannon quickly rushed to the giant and connected it back to the pulleys and took the strain as Porthos stood up and roared his power. To describe Porthos as a titan was unworthy to the Titans of ancient Greece. This was a man, yes, but a man who just exuded physical strength. And a man who was being worshipped by everyone present.

Except one man.

He had watched the scene with an increasing sense of concern. For he was a spy from the Cardinal’s Guards and he had one very simple mission. Dispose of Porthos once and for all.

“He is not a man” he thought to himself as Porthos flexed his mammoth chest, “he is a true titan. He cannot be defeated!” and with that he slipped away to report his findings to his superiors, the roaring of Porthos celebrating his triumph over metal ringing in his ears.

***

Cardinal Richelieu listened to his spy’s report and nodded. The spy bowed and left the Cardinal to muse on the findings. He stood up and went to the balcony that overlooked the city of Paris. He’d known for years that Porthos was the lynchpin of the Musketeers and every attempt to kill him had failed. The Cardinal was about to thump his hand onto the balustrades when he suddenly had a thought. Porthos was the lynchpin of the Musketeers and therefore would be privy to information that no one else would be. As he thought more, a wicked smile crossed his face. No, killing Porthos was not the way, capturing Porthos alive was the key to bringing the Musketeers down. As he went back to his desk, he was reminded of one of the things his spy had said.

“Your Eminence, that man is not human!”

The wicked smile now turned into a grin.

“Any man is human” he thought to himself, “and as such has human desires!”

He wrote a note to his premier spy and attached it to the foot of a raven that he set fly across the Paris skyline. As he watched it fly, the grin turned into a chuckle.

“Let’s see the inhuman Musketeer work his way out of that!” and with that ordered his carriage to be made ready.

***

“Aye” said Porthos, downing his fifth mug of mead that day, “but don’t let the Captain hear what she said!”

The Musketeers all laughed loudly as Porthos told another tale of another woman, so in awe of his strength that she called him “husband” in front of her husband. Porthos liked being with both men and women, but liked it best when whoever he was with was having a good time. He was just about to order another round, when a man burst into the inn. Looking around, he spied the Musketeers and grabbed Porthos by the collar

“My lord” he said, panicked, “my child’s life is in danger!”

Instantly, all the Musketeers stood up and followed the man outside and instantly sprang into action as they saw what had happened. There was a house on fire in a nearby street and although the man and his wife had escaped, their child was trapped on the top floor with no means of escape.

“Gentlemen” said Porthos, taking charge, “Alert the guards that a fire is in need of attention. Athos, Aramis, organise a water chain, D’Artangan, go to headquarters and bring reinforcements, this fire cannot be allowed to spread!”

The Musketeers saluted and set about their tasks as Porthos looked up and saw the child being engulfed by smoke.

“WHAT’S YOUR NAME?” he shouted

“Pierre” coughed the child

“PIERRE” shouted Porthos, “I WANT YOU TO CLIMB OUT OF THAT ROOM AND JUMP. I PROMISE AS A KING’S MUSKETEER TO CATCH YOU!”

As Pierre clambered up to the window frame, the man’s wife fainted.

“I promise you, sir!” Porthos said, as he positioned himself below the window, “your child will come to no harm!”

Suddenly, there was a gasp as Pierre lost his footing and fell. Porthos dived towards the house, rolled over and gritted his teeth as Pierre landed squarely on his stomach. He bounced up a few inches and Porthos caught him in his arms on the way down. Just as he was about to comfort the child, he saw an overhanging piece of wood, well alight, break off and fall to the ground. Placing Pierre on the ground, he covered the child and took the force of the impact which would have killed a normal man. Porthos, still covering Pierre, crawled away from the house just as a group of guards arrived and started to tackle the blaze, closely followed by Athos and Aramis and a collection of people all holding buckets waiting to be directed. As Porthos staggered to his feet, Pierre crawled out from under him and ran to his father.

“Thank you, sir!” said the father, as he hugged his child, “You are truly a living Titan”

“Indeed you are, sir” said a voice, and Porthos turned around to find a finely dressed woman holding a rose in her hand. Porthos was instantly smitten and as the lady turned round, waving the rose as if it were a lure, Porthos stumbled along, muttering.

The walk that the lady led the Titan on was almost like a dance. As she took decisive steps forward, the Titan, now slobbering like a dog, followed with stumbling steps, almost constant burbling and inane smirking. Porthos had no idea who this lady was, but he was falling head over heels in love with her. As she opened the door to a house and gestured the Titan in, it was clear to all that he had one thing on his mind as there was a noticeable bulge in his breeches.

Ma maison est ta maison, ma rose est ta rose, mon amour est ton amour!"

For the first time in many a year, Porthos felt weak at the knees. The person who he had found out was a Countess, has showered Porthos with gifts, food and was now lying in his lap with her eyes closed and her mouth pursed as if expecting a kiss.

"Madame" said Porthos, gently moving the Countess, "I regret that I am already married to the nation. You honour me with your confessions of love and yet, I must refuse!"

"I understand" she said, and stood up, "but please, allow me to witness the power that a living Titan has in his body!"

Porthos chuckled as he stood up. Everyone wanted to feel his strength, men, women and there was that occasion when a small boy squeezed his arm and said "Bigger than my father's!" so Porthos consented and bent his arms causing the shirt he was wearing to tear along the seam. The Countess gasped in admiration and instantly followed the tear with her finger, prodding the muscle that had created it. "And how strong is that?" she asked

"Stronger than any man on earth!" Porthos smiled

"Please, my lord" she said, "please, show me the strength that makes you a Titan!"

Porthos looked around the room and found a very large oak cabinet, filled with various wine glasses and plates. He stepped over to it, squatted down, placed his hands underneath it and grunted. He slowly stood up, taking the cabinet with him and then removed a hand.

"The power of a titan!" he grunted as he lifted the cabinet with one hand.

The Countess moaned at this display of power and after Porthos lowered it back to the ground, she pounced on him and grabbed hold of his shirt. She ripped it open and pounded his chest. Porthos was suprised by this, but had to admit that he was enjoying all this attention and so flexed his chest. This caused the Countess to moan even more and so he breathed deeper causing the chest to heave and as it did, a stain started to appear on his breeches. He was just about to kiss the Countess when she shouted "NOW!" and jumped down. Porthos turned round and registered another man bringing a cannonball down on his head before blacking out.

***

"I AM A TITAN!" roared Porthos as he broke the chains holding him to the steps of a temple dedicated to the Greek gods. As he collapsed to his knees, breathing hard, Hercules clapped his hands.

"So, the Frenchman thinks he's better than me, does he?" and so saying launched himself at Porthos and two were involved in an epic Greco Roman wrestling match that if any man had witnessed it would have had them loosing their trousers within seconds. After nearly thirty minutes of man handling and feats of strength that would have left men, women and even children speechless, Porthos lifted the now limp Hercules over his head and roared "THE TITAN IS DEFEATED. LONG LIVE THE TITAN!" and threw him down the stairs and flexed every muscle in his body to prove his power

***

Porthos groaned as he came to from the cannonball impact. As he opened his eyes, he could see the Countess in front of him who started to chuckle and then laugh.

"So the titan thinks he is a god, eh?" she said and turned her back on him.

"My lady, I..." started Porthos and then suddenly realised that something was wrong. He couldn't move his arms or feet. He opened his eyes wide and gasped. He was strapped, naked save for a loincloth, to the one thing he feared the most, a rack. The only thing that could make this situation worse was...

"Ah, Monsieur Porthos, glad to see you back in the world of the living!"

"Cardinal!" sneered Porthos as the French First Minister and advisor to the King entered the room.

"Good, I am glad to see that you haven't lost your memory. Shame though, all that strength would be useful for my Guards. I assume you know Milady de Winter!".

The countess bowed and when she stood up removed her disguise causing the giant to tug at his restraints.

"Now then" said the Cardinal, "just tell us what we want to know and we'll let you go!"

"I will never betray the confidences I have in me!" Porthos grunted.

The Cardinal nodded and a bolt of pain shot down Porthos's spine causing him to scream in agony.

"Now" he said, as Porthos started to puff and pant, "I wonder how many of those the famed titan can take before he begs to tell us everything? Milady?" and with that he left the room as another bolt shot down the spine of the giant causing his screams to resonate throughout the chamber.

After what seemed like hours, Porthos’s body was racked with pain. His arms and legs were on fire, his chest was heaving and he was breathing hard. His heart was pounding and he was sweating like a pig but still he was denying the Cardinal his triumph.

Another bolt of pain produced another scream and Porthos could feel his arms and legs burning in pain. He knew that he could never give up and yet in the back of his mind he wondered if he should die, but realised that would give the Cardinal his ultimate triumph. Another bolt of pain woke him up to the fact that he had to escape.

However as he was planning on his escape, the Cardinal entered.

“So” he said, “do you have anything to say?”

Porthos closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

“I defy you!” he grunted and with that he pulled on his restraints. Slowly but surely, the wheel at the top of the device started to turn and despite the torturer’s best efforts, the pain in Porthos’s arms and legs started to recede and as it did, Porthos’s strength increased.

The Cardinal realised that unless he did something and quickly, the giant would be free and so took a flaming torch from one of the walls and held it aloft.

“You will die!” he said, and with that lit a rope. Porthos watched the rope caught fire and followed it to the end and gasped as he saw the ceiling was full f spears all attached to a frame so that when the rope burnt through it would pierce anyone on the rack. Porthos knew it was a race against time and redoubled his strength.

As he pulled against the restraints, a bulge developed in his loincloth. The bigger the bulge got, the more intense Porthos’s breathing got, the more intense the breathing got, the harder Porthos pulled. After a few moments, the loincloth gave up it’s struggle and ripped to reveal Porthos’s own spear which was already tipped with a dribble of liquid. The sight disgusted the Cardinal and he left the room, but the torturer was intrigued and gingerly touched the spear.

Porthos moaned and his pull relaxed.

He had never experienced these feelings before. He felt powerful, weak, strong, timid and aroused all at the same time.

The torturer grabbed the spear and started to rub hard.

Porthos's mind whirled with images of Hercules breaking free of chains, Samson bringing down the temple and even his own incredible feats of strength. The faster the torturer rubbed, the harder his spear got and the harder his spear got the stronger he got.

Porthos suddenly roared and pulled the restraints so hard that the rack broke under the strain and Porthos was free. He jumped off the rack and wrestled the torturer to the ground just as the rope snapped and the spears crashed to the ground. Porthos rolled onto his back to find that he had crushed the torturer who was lying on the ground, clearly in agony. As Porthos was about to leave, the torturer gasped, “Hail Porthos, the strongest man to live!”.

***

Porthos reported his tale to Captain Treville who noted his report with concern. Whilst he was pleased that Porthos had escaped and not revealed any information, the fact that the Cardinal was now willing to use torture was a frightening development. Porthos replied with a smile saying “Whilst I am a Musketeer, no one will be able to beat us!” with that he thumped his chest, saluted and walked out of the Captain office looking for D'Artangan, the newest recruit to the King's Musketeers and a man almost as much in awe of Porthos's strength as Porthos. As he did, he felt his spear start to bulge and hoped that the new recruit would not be frightened of his request which he repeated in his mind over and over again.

"Punish me, D'Artangan. Punish me and reveal my strength!"