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Weber’s World

Lolita never looked so beautiful. Everything about her was radiant. She smiled and Shark Lad’s heart took an extra beat. How could he be so lucky? How could Lolita have actually chosen him?

They were alone, for the first time in what felt like years. Slowly, he walked towards her. Lolita bit her lip playfully. Shark Lad raised his hand and—

“Shark Lad!”

Shark Lad gave a low growl. He kept his eyes closed trying to keep the vision of Lolita in his mind but to no avail. The dream was literally over.

“Shark Lad, wake up! We’re going back in,” barked Timber Wolf.

“You mangy fleabag,” Shark Lad said, shaking his head, “You couldn’t have given me just five more minutes?”

“Five more minutes? How the sprock have you been sleeping at all? We were under attack!”

“I haven’t slept right since Lolita left,” Shark Lad answered. “I was lucky to catch a few z’s.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling all nice and rested,” Timber Wolf said with characteristic sarcasm. “This is gonna be messy.”

“Where’s E-4 Sharky?”

“I lost track of him. It’s crazy out there.”

“So, how many?” Shark Lad asked.

“You really want to bet at a time like this?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Fine, I say 150.”

“I see your 150, and I double it.”

“You’re going to take down 300 of those ghouls? All by yourself? I’d like to see that.”

Shark Lad grinned. “Ain’t that what this whole sprockin’ thing is about?”

Weber’s World

Kinetix helped Angdar back to his quarters on his ship. Marvin the Martian had volunteered to take over pilot duties while they tried to figure out what was wrong with him.

“I don’t understand,” Kinetix said, “it should have worked on you as well. I mean, my arm feels better than it did before, and IB and Blaze were able to help some others after you tried.”

Angdar coughed as he tried to get his armor off. “Not sure. But can you give me a hand?”

She grinned. “Gladly,” she said as she walked over to him. “You think we should tell them about us? That we’re just….”

Angdar winced as she helped him pull the armor off of his chest. His chest was a deep purple color on several areas.

“I’m going to get IB and Blaze again. They have to be able to help you.”

“Just stay here for a minute…please. I want to talk to you.”

She nodded and took his wrist gauntlets off. He was now just wearing a normal pair of pants that fit under his armor.

“Thanks,” he said. He glanced at her arm and said, “let’s get that wrist guard we created off of you.

“I have it,” she said, and used her power to seemingly melt it away.

“Kine..I mean Zoe. You are an amazingly attractive woman. I really hope that when this whole war thing is over and assuming we survive, that you will at least let me take you on a real date.”

“You stopped me from going to get help to ask me out?” She said trying her hardest not to smile. “Of course you can.”

She placed her hand on his arm, and her facial expression changed from a smile to sheer puzzlement. “What in the world…”

* * * * * *

IB and Blaze were finally getting a chance to sit down when Kinetix came running in the room. “I need you guys to come with me. It’s Angdar!”

They looked at each other and got up and followed her as fast as they could. IB went from exhausted to worry in less than a second. “What’s happened?”

Zoe opened the door and they saw Andgar sitting on his bed smiling at them. “Come on in guys. I think we figured out what happened out there.”

Blaze and IB looked at each other.

“Let’s go ahead and try again,” Angdar said as Kinetix came over and grabbed his hand.

They both shrugged and walked over to him. Angdar reached out and touched the Amulet for the second time.

This time they saw the bruises on his chest begin to disappear. They could see the concave spot where a rib was obviously shattered fill back in to its normal shape.

“But why didn’t it work before?” Blaze asked as they stepped back. Blaze’s gaze lingered on Angdar just a bit, and IB swatted his arm playfully.

Nth metal,” Kinetix said plainly. “It interfered with whatever the amulet was trying to do.”

“That can’t be it; you had an Nth metal cast and bracelet on as well.” IB said thoughtfully.

“It wasn’t the armor…or the cast that interfered. It was,” she looked at Angdar to see if he wanted to let them in on their little discovery.

Angdar nodded and picked up, “it was the Nth metal that is inside of me.”

“What?” IB and Blaze both said at the same time.

“You know that to even lift any of the stuff, anyone has to have one of the specially made bracelets, or some other type of assistance to manipulate it. Such as Zoe’s powers.”

“Right; I remember you showing me how heavy the stuff was back on Weber’s World.”

“That holds true even for Thanagarians. I happened to have a few of them around because of this being a Wingman Elite Guard ship. So we were able to have several fighters out there with the ability to wield the stuff.”

“But that doesn’t explain…”

Angdar had stood and walked over to his weapons. It was quite obvious that he had nothing other than the shorts on, yet he lifted his mace like it weighed nothing.

“I don’t get it,” Blaze said. If you don’t have anything to assist you, how are you…”

“It’s literally in my body. Flowing along with my blood. Grafted into my bones. Zoe, if you could…”

She walked over to him and placed her hand on his chest. He sighed a little and then gave her a little hug.

“Zoe was able to move it from the areas in need of healing, and that allowed the amulet to work on me. She just redistributed it back to where it was. With a few slight previously agreed upon modifications.”

“So natural wings are not your only mutation?” IB asked, and Angdar was impressed that he had figured it out so quickly.

“Yep.”

“So are you two…” Blaze started.

“Stop it Hon.” IB said, but his face had an inquisitive look. They could tell that he was wondering the same thing. “I mean you two do seem insuperable,” he said with a sly grin.

Angdar and Zoe looked at each other and laughed. “No. We’re not…at least not yet really.” Angdar said.

“We were caught up in the emotion of the moment. Going to war, and all that stuff that gets your emotions going into overdrive.” Zoe said, and then grinned as she glanced at Blaze and IB.

IB looked at them. “I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to…”

“We are going to see what happens though as soon as this whole mess is behind us though. I mean, could you pass this up?” She said as she looked Angdar over.

“Not a cha…” Blaze started and then stopped. “Sorry.”

They all laughed for a few minutes. Until the sound of the perimeter alarm went off.

Angdar looked at them, “We’ll meet you out there as soon as I’m suited back up.”

“C’mn Blaze, let’s go see what’s going on.”

Near Weber's World

"Did you see what set off the alarm?" Kar-Em asked as IB and Blaze reentered the ship.

"Not only that, but I have it here," IB grinned. Behind him floated a globe of light, and inside...

"Part of the Dream-Eater!" Kent and Reboot said in unison. "Awesome!"

"Let's get going, boys," IB said. "We have to figure out a way to stop this thing once and for all. By the way, I took the liberty of asking He Who Wanders to follow it discreetly. He doesn't much like crowds, anyway."

As Reboot eagerly had Glitch take the Dream-Eater particle to the lab, Kent stepped up to IB. "IB, that amulet of yours... Would you and Blaze mind bringing it to the sick bay? There are a lot of defenders in need of healing."

IB shook his head sadly. "We'd be glad to, but... it seems this amulet came with a limitation."

Blaze chimed in. "When we were in our near-death experience, we were told that the enchanted amulet allows us to combine our light and heat powers in times of great need to heal. But it also only doesn't work all the time. I think it tires out the entities from whom we draw our powers."

"Just try it. Please."

"Of course we will, Kent. Maybe... Marvin said he had a minor burn from the Dream-Eater battle. He should heal by himself quickly, but let's see if we can speed it up," IB said.

So they approached Marvin and tried.

But try as they might, the amulet had stopped working for the time being.

The Lead Ship, near Weber's World

Invisible Brainiac stretched himself out lazily on the lounge chair beside the swimming pool on the ship's deck. The starry night winked at him and Blaze from above; the stars had come out again now that the Dream-Eater had been momentarily chased away. If he tried hard enough, he could pretend all was at peace.

A splash jolted him out from his reverie. He turned to see Blaze splashing around in the pool. "Ohhhh, I just can't get the butterfly done right," Blaze said sadly.

IB grinned. "I COULD have helped you, you know. My little prideful baby." With another loud splash, IB dove into the water and surfaced near Blaze. "You have to move your arms like this."

"Hmph," Blaze pretended to pout. "You're so good at this."

"Well, I don't have your sense of balance," IB winked. "Remember when we went wakeboarding? Fun times."

"Yes, and you were really happy you got a tan after," Blaze smiled.

"It's so hard for me to tan," IB laughed. "I like having a nice light brown tone. Kind of like yours, though I'll never be that dark."

"No matter how light or dark you are, you're already perfect," Blaze smiled as he leaned in for a kiss.

As IB leaned in, a deep voice interrupted. "Mind if I join you?"

IB and Blaze turned to see Chace strut onto the deck. He was wearing an extremely skimpy pair of trunks and had obviously oiled himself up. IB glanced jealously at Blaze, whose eyes had widened. IB glanced down at his own body; while his abs were tight they just weren't as defined as Chace's.

As Chace plunged into the pool, IB moved protectively towards Blaze as he surreptitiously twisted his own LMB ring. Blaze whispered to IB, "Don't worry, I know what to do."

IB tried his best to smile as Chace surfaced. Flinging his hair back, Chace flashed his bright white smile and winked suggestively. "Lucky me, I get to see you two here in your swimwear. I do enjoy swimming while sipping some coffee and cream. Although I don't mind having either coffee or cream alone."

Blaze returned Chace's wink. "But coffee is so much better with cream, isn't it?"

Chace smiled as he drew even closer. IB tried not to notice Chace's newly waxed torso. "A lot of couples have told me that before, only to end up singles. But since you two are big heroes, I would much prefer a matched pair." His smile was cordial, but his eyes twinkled threateningly.

IB grinned as he sidled up to Chace. "I don't think that will happen with us, Chace. Now be nice, or you might not ever get a taste of this coffee and cream."

Chace leaned forward; he was a head taller than IB, but the smaller man stood his ground. Chace bent down so their eyes were level with each other. IB closed his eyes, thanking his ancestors that their genes had made his so chinky. He stood his ground. "Haven't you ever heard of personal space?"

IB gasped as Chace reached up and flicked IB's nipple. "I have a habit of making people want to share their space with me," he said threateningly. Blaze gave a yelp as Chace reached over and slapped Blaze's bottom. "And once they do, they hardly ever complain." Chace put his hand on IB's knee and slowly moved up IB's leg, stopping just below his crotch. IB glanced over to see Chace had done the same to Blaze. "In fact, they usually beg for more."

IB's heart pounded. Even closing his eyes hadn't helped. Blaze had it worse, for sure. He reached over and held Blaze's hand in comfort. Blaze looked into IB's eyes and mouthed, "I'm trying."

IB nodded. He had tried too, but he couldn't move his legs, couldn't bring himself to knock Chace's hands away.

Chace continued speaking. "You two are unusually strong-willed, though. I'll give you that. But somehow I don't think you can hold out much longer. I think my hands will find out just how excited you are..." With that, Chace's hands slowly inched upwards...

"Step away from the young ones, you rascal." A laser suddenly appeared on Chace's forehead.

Chace quickly held his hands up in the air and shot a dirty look at IB. "You called for help?!"

Special Officer Ralph stepped out of the shadows. "Still haven't learned your lesson, huh, Chace? Now put your hands on your head and walk to the pool's edge, slowly."

Kairos followed Officer Ralph, her hands glowing. "And don't even think about using your powers - I'm immune and I can hold you here while they recover," she smirked.

Chacne grunted and complied. "You don't have anything on me, though. All I did was flirt with these two."

"Is that so?" came another voice. IB smiled as Exnihil stepped forward. "These guys say otherwise."

Blaze smiled in glee while Chace's mouth opened in shock as nearly a dozen young men, all within a few years their age, stepped forward. All were decidedly attractive, and all were rather angry.

"How... how..." Chace stammered.

"It was pretty easy," Exnihil smiled. "With help from IB and Blaze, Officer Ralph and I were able to trace your movements from the time you vanished from Geequo."

"Your mutation to charm and dominate men instead of women certainly suited you," Officer Ralph added. "You sure enjoyed yourself across the galaxy, huh? It's just too bad that, like other Geequons, your targets develop an immunity to you after a while."

"And so they were able to recognize the photos of you we sent them," Blaze grinned. "And they also remember exactly what items you stole from them."

"Like my mother's jewelry," said one of the men, a blonde with blue eyes.

"Or most of my life savings," added another, a green-skinned redhead.

"So yes, we have more than often to take you in," IB smiled.

Chace glowered as Officer Ralph handcuffed him with a power dampener. Kairos looked thoughtfully. "Being an LMBer is something, alright. Never imagined I'd be bringing people in instead of getting into mischief..."

IB approached their fellow LMBers. "Not bad for a few days' work, huh? Thanks for the save."

Officer Ralph extended his hand. "No, thank YOU. Chace was one of those offenders who always seemed to slip past me. It's a good thing you noticed something was up, and used your powers to take a photo for me."

IB put an arm around Blaze and winked. "I can get very possessive at times." Blaze winked as he held IB's hand. "So can I."

The green-skinned redhead and the blonde came forward, followed by the other young men. "We'd like to thank you two," said the blonde. "We've been trying to get back at that nasshead for a long, long time now."

"He sure fooled all of us," added a blue-skinned brunette with elf-like ears. "Can't believe we were all taken in."

"Don't beat yourself up," IB smiled. "His powers just work really well, though it'll be hard to prove he's guilty. The thefts will be easier, though, and should put him away for quite a while."

The tanned blonde was looking at Chace as he left. "He really doesn't look al that good when he's not using his powers, huh?"

As one, the young men turned to look at Chace. He seemed shorter somehow; his abs weren't as defined; his nose seemed a bit too large and there was a scattering of acne on his face. He still looked good, but he wasn't as gorgeous as his powers had made him seem.

"I'd say you two look much better than he does," smiled a dark young man with close-cropped hair.

"We hope you'll give us a chance to thank you more properly," added another guy with Asian features.

"Maybe after the war ends; we've all volunteered to defend Weber's World too," smiled a light-skinned brunette with rugged stubble all over his chin. "Least we could do to thank you."

IB and Blaze looked at each other and grinned. "Sure, let's all link each other up," IB winked.

*************************************************

Blaze leaned back as all the men finally left the pool area. "What a night, huh IB?"

"Yeah, Blaze. We made six new friends and we got rid of the guy pestering us. Just in time, too. Another second and..."

"And he'd have held my property without my permission," Blaze winked. "Man, I'm tired now. We should head in, shouldn't we?"

"Yeah, we should," IB said as he grabbed his towel. "But, er, there's something we haven't taken care of yet. Say, you wanna go visit Pol and Condo?" IB grinned. "They told me they're both recovering well. Or maybe Angdar. Let's see what modifications Kinetix made on him."

"Ah-ah, visit only! We stay for a bit and then we go rest up," Blaze said with a firm smile. "We have a big day tomorrow. Besides, I can take care of you by myself."

The Light Shield Surrounding Weber’s World

“NGGGGRRRAHHHHRRR!!!” a frustrated teeth gnashing scream was heard amidst the futile pounding of fists on a force field.

Stella Ah was stuck. She slumped against the wall of the force field protecting Weber’s World.

She was SO close. After dragging Nam’Lor’s cold body and an unconscious Minotaur away from the solar flare and towards Weber’s World, she was exhausted and feeling very defeated.

Kid Gravity limped alongside her but his crushed ankle had left him in agony. He tried to be strong but Stella could see the sweat on his face and the pain in his eyes.

“Look!” Kid Gravity said with effort.

Stella turned her head, her matted hair swinging, and saw yet more ghouls trying to get after them. Herself and Kid Gravity had barely been able to fend them off as they madly crawled along to Weber’s World. Now with the wall behind them, they would be easy prey.

After all this time, on her own in the middle of the horde, with the Drinking Buddies against Titus, surviving the solar flare by extending her personal force field over the other Drinking Buddies as she never had before, fighting her way out through the horde, and now … Stella Ah had come so close to Weber’s World. Now she would die like a fly on a windshield. She thought she was extraordinary lucky to survive all of that. Now it looked like her luck had run out.

She grabbed Kid Gravity and held him close. The only thing she had energy for was to curl up behind her force field and hope it was sufficient. Kid Gravity rested his head on her shoulder. They looked so young huddled against the planet’s light shiled as the ghouls closed in.


…………………………………


ZARK!! ZAPF!! SPTZZZ!!

Stella’s vision was hazy. One minute the ghouls were upon them and the next everything was blurring. As the area around them stopped whirling, several figures came into view.

“Young lady, what do you think you’re doing out here.” A large man with a glowing green ring asked her authoritatively.

Several other large men stood behind him.

Stella couldn’t speak. Her wits were fried from the last few hours, and now several of the LMBP stood before her. A glowing young man stepped forward and his words were lost on her but he seemed kind.

“She’s in shock Abin.” Invisible Brainiac said. IB knelt and looked the girl in the eyes. “Miss, are you alright? Are you injured?” IB asked politely “What’s your name?”

Stella shook her head up and down, and then left and right. “Stella … Stella Ah … Reflekto.”

She was just so tired, and a bit star struck to be in front of Abin Quank, Invisible Brainiac, Space Ranger, and Jerry. They were famous to her, and this is not how she imagined her introduction. Her costume was a mess, SHE was a mess, and her force field barely sparkled at all – she had exhausted it over the past few hours.

She took Jerry’s hand as Abin created a green bubble to carry Kid Gravity, and the bodies of Nam’Lor and Taur-El. She looked at the bodies of the drinking Buddies who had so fearlessly come to her rescue … and fainted.

“WHOAH!” Jerry exclaimed and then scooped her up in his large pliable arms.

……………………………………

Weber’s World

Later, Stella woke in an infirmary. The lights were too bright but … “I feel great!” She said.

“Relax young lady, I’ve got you pumped full of space vitamins because these fools need to speak with you oh sooooo badly.” The grumpy doctor rolled his eyes at the members of the LMB that surrounded Stella’s hospital bed.

The doctor waddled off mumbling something like “As soon as I put them back together … they go and break them again … so much work …”

Around Stella’s bed stood a busty blonde bombshell with big hair, another pleasant looking woman with bland hair, and … Nightcrawler, whom she recognized immediately.

“Young lady, you have some explaining to do.” The busty blonde said as soon as Stella took in the scene. Stella found herself flustered.

“Just take a deep breath and tell us what happened.” The pleasant woman said, Stella now recognized as Saturn Girl, an LMBP FOUNDER!!!”

“I … I … I’m Stella Ah, Reflekto of Xanthu … I came to help,” Stella finally spit out.

“Child, let us into your mind, you have been inside the Dark Oval’s army, we need your information …we are under siege, time is short.” Spellbinder said just a moment before she was in Stella’s mind looking over the past few hours of events.

Spellbinder’s eyes lit up in surprise. “By Gawn.” She turned and looked at Saturn Girl and Nightcrawler who were telepathically linked for the event.

“Disaster Boy.” Nightcrawler said and hung his head as the image of Disaster Boy incinerating himself and Titus lingered in his mind. “I should’ve known.” He said. “I did know.”

“It was his choice.” Saturn Girl said.

“That monster Titus is gone as well.” Spellbinder said emphatically. She was glad she wouldn’t have to face that one.

“Atomik, and Nike, we barely knew them.” Saturn Girl said in this momentary memorial.

After a long sigh, Spellbinder said “We had best get back to work.” And she walked briskly out of the infirmary. Nightcrawler followed with a stoic nod at Stella.

Stella was left on her hospital bed fuming. “That … bossy … just because she has big boobs and big hair … doesn’t mean she can just barge into my mind … and tell me what to do!”

“They don’t even seem to care! What about the others … Nam’Lor, Kid Gravity, and Taur-El.” Stella jumped out of bed, still in her filthy costume.

Saturn Girl lingered for a moment “Don’t be too hard on her, we are all under a lot of pressure. I’ve had another costume produced if you would like to shower and change.”

“And … Stella … despite our outward calm, we DO care about each and every member of the LMB.” Saturn Girl said firmly and then pat Stella on the hand. “We’re proud of you too, what you did, surviving and rescuing Kid Gravity and the others … that was nothing short of incredible.” With a short smile Saturn Girl turned to leave. “Report to Invisible Brainiac when your ready, Legionnaire.”

For the third time today, Stella was dumb struck. “Legionnaire?”

Weber’s World Medical Center.

Before she reported to Invisible Brainiac, Stella paid a visit to Kid Gravity in a nearby room. They were fitting him for a probe leg until his own could be regrown from cells. He was in good spirits, considering. He would have to sit out the rest of this fight but after, he was planning on training and working hard until he could join the LMB.

Stella left him, and wandered over to the operating theatre. She looked through the glass at the medical team working furiously on the inert minotaur lying there. They were well versed in operating on alien and super human life forms but, they were all tired. The medical teams had been working nearly non-stop since the siege began.

The nurse told her that, if he survived, Taur-El would lose his arm. It was badly broken in the battle with Titus. “If he survived.” She thought. The wounds he received from Titus and the ghouls were serious. Taur-El had yet to stir or wake since she brought him to Weber’s World.

One last stop, she thought. Nam’Lor’s body was being held in the morgue. She swore she could feel the ice through her force field. His massive form laid on the cold slab. Stella remarked out loud that “the morgue is full.”

She stared at Nam’Lor’s cold body. “Poor Nam’Lor, he was kind of sweet.” She lifted her right hand that now wore a flight ring. She placed her hand on Nam’Lor’s thinking how small her’s looked on his.

She steeled herself, and saw her reflection in the metal cabinet, she looked good, clean costume, freshly showered. She turned to report to Invisible Brainiac for her orders.


.
.
.

… … … “Nam’Lor.”


Stella stopped in her tracks. Her boots made a squeeking sound on the floor. Was she hearing things?

She felt a chill, and tuned around slowly, very slowly.

“GASP!!!!”


Nam’Lor stood before Stella now. He towered over her, his head laid nearly parallel to his shoulders in the dim light of the morgue. Titus had broken it savagely in their battle.

“N …. Nam’Lor?” she said, and then Nam’Lor moved towards her.


“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” She screamed.

……………………….

.
.
.
.
“shhhhh.” Nam’Lor said and held a finger up to his lips.

“Nam’Lor’s neck hurts.” He said and whimpered.

Then he grabbed his head in his hands, and jerked it fiercely. KRAK!

Nam’Lor’s head look righted, straight on his shoulders. The he stretched and his neck and back popped several times. KRAK! POP! SNAP!

KRACKLE!

“AHH, Nam’Lor much better.” The large man said with a smile.

“yo .. you …. You’re alive.” Stella exclaimed.


“Yes, Nam’Lor thinks so … Nam’Lor just need a nap, Nam’Lor very strong!”

and then Nam’Lor held up his arms and flexed for the pretty lady. "Gun show! Free ticket!"


Stella laughed, despite herself and the dire situation they were all in, she laughed hysterically, because it WAS funny, and because after everything bad that had happened, she was happy for some good news. Nam'Lor was alive!

Weber's World

Many think the LMBers are heroes because of their raw power, natural talent and sheer guts. What they fail to realizes is that an LMBer also undergoes rigorous training, adheres to a Constitution and Code of Conduct, and is especially screened for the ability to work well with others.

All of these were evident as the LMBers led their allies in the operation to destroy the Dream-Eater.

Phase I - The Planning

Invisible Brainiac stepped back and admired their output. "It looks excellent," he smiled. "From Kent's studies and our own experiences, we've confirmed that bright light is the only thing that can destroy the Dream-Eater, but it's also powerful enough to begin absorbing said light - meaning lightcasters such as Kalla and myself might end up making an unnecessary kamikaze dive. We do know that other forms of energy can weaken it. We also need to destroy the entire mass in one go or risk it splitting into smaller parts and wreaking havoc. I'd say our plan addresses those perfectly."

Kar-Em nodded in approval. "The multiple redundancies you proposed will help ensure the success of the plan while minimizing the risk to each team member. I'm impressed."

IB couldn't help grinning. "Thanks," he said as humbly as he could.

Rockhopper Lad smiled in approval as well. "You certainly have grown in the short time since we parted ways, IB." Beside him, Helena Handbasket smiled warmly and nodded in agreement. Bat-Fem didn't smile, though she did nod. "Your idea of letting each person in the plan know only their portion is good. Loose lips, and all that."


"Especially since Saturn Girl, Saturn Guy and I will continue to coordinate telepathically," Spellbinder added.

"Marvin and I have assembled a team. As far as I'm concerned, construction's already begun," Reboot added.

"I've discussed with Hugh Taylor, Kid Prime, Vee and others. We'll keep our defenses up while you guys do the deed," Nightcrawler said. "If our suspicions are right, once the plan is done all hell will break loose."

"And we'll continue to keep an eye on the populace of Weber's World," Quislet, Esq. added. "Not the best of jobs, but we're ready to sacrifice our sanity as needed." The room chuckled; nobody wanted to be in Quislet's role of babysitting dozens of ambassadors.

Everyone settled back. The plan seemed sound, especially based on what they knew of the Dream-Eater. Was it perhaps too good to be true?

Perhaps it was. Kalla Hrykos spoke up. "I have to agree, the thoroughness of your plan is commendable. I think we may have overlooked one thing, though... If you are to pull the trigger at the end, are you sure you will survive?"

IB, to his credit, didn't flinch. "I'm not certain I will, but I am in the best position to survive out of all of us here at Weber's World."

Kalla leaned forward. "So you're not certain that you've regained enough strength to survive, then?"

Kalla's follow-up question sucked the air out of the room. Several of the LMBers raised their eyebrows.

"IB... I thought you said you were just tired during your last encounter?" Actor Lad asked. Like many of the others seated there, he was a former LMB leader whose wisdom and experience was being called upon now.

"Yeah, wouldn't your powers have recharged by now?" Kid Marvel's voice was concerned. Beside him, Harbinger and Candlelight also looked worried.

"I can't lie. I'm not entirely sure," IB replied.

"And you hoped that nobody would ask that," Kalla pressed. "So that you would be the one to sacrifice yourself if need be, correct?"

IB nodded, tight-lipped.

Kalla's tone and face softened. "I take no pleasure in exposing you, so to speak. You and I are much alike, in that we will go to great lengths to see our goals through. But as I told Cobalt Kid before we parted ways, I am now fighting to find something more in life. And I would not want to see you through your life away needlessly."

IB closed his eyes. "I asked Blaze to support me; although if worst comes to worst, I can get him out of there. The only other ones I can think of who could join me are yourself, Abin and Harbinger. But all three of you are needed elsewhere."

The room was silent now. Kalla eyed IB appraisingly, then nodded. "Unfortunately, you're right. The three of us have to do our own jobs."

IB smiled. "I know you meant well, Kalla. Thank you, I appreciae you looking out for me."

"We all would, kid. That's a pretty big risk for you to take, IB," said Poverty Lad.

"Well, why do we have to let you take it?" Jerry spoke up. Although he hadn't yet held a leader or deputy leader post, Jerry had been invited to the meeting as well. "I think I know of an almost surefire way you can go in and leave. You'll have to take me along too, though."

IB's eyes narrowed as he considered Jerry's statement. "That thought had crossed my mind, but... Isn't it too risky? How much control do you have, Jerry? I wouldn't want you to risk yourself..."

Jerry stood up, arms crossed over his chest. "It's better than nothing. And I can't let you be the big hero all by yourself. Tell you what, let's go test it right now and see."

Beagle Boy raised his hand. "Um... what exactly are you suggesting?"

IB and Jerry both smiled. "Come with us, and you'll see," Jerry winked.

Weber's World

Phase II - The Preparation

Invisible Brainiac wiped his brow as he exited the gym. He, Blaze and Jerry had finally perfected their maneuver after hours. He was exhausted, but what was important was that it worked.

As he rounded the corner, he nearly bumped into Quislet, Esq. and Harbinger.

Before he could say sorry, Harbinger spoke. "IB, we have a couple of things to raise with you."

IB cocked his head. "Is it related to the plan? I assume it's not the mechanics per se, since you didn't raise this during the meeting..."

Quislet nodded. "Astute as always. It's Kalla - she has a fairly big role in the plan. I know she was part of your little Fellowship," Quislet's tone indicated that he still wasn't truly comfortable with it, but he and many of the other LMB leaders had accepted it because of who else was involved; "and Spellbinder and Kent do vouch for her. But... Are you absolutely certain about including her in your plan? It requires tight coordination, and even a little mistrust..."

IB smiled. "That's why I assigned Shining Son as her partner. He's too new to have heard of her history." What IB didn't say was that he'd have assigned Infra-Red Lass, but she specifically requested to be partnered with him. Odd, but maybe she felt more comfortable with his higher power levels.

Harbinger and Quislet looked at each other, then nodded. It was a good enough compromise. Harbinger spoke again. "So, Hrun said that Power Boy was going to get help. What he didn't say was how long it would take. Do you really not know anything about this plan?"

IB shook his head. "I wish I did, but we never planned for anything like that when we were all together. To be honest, I don't even know for sure whether Power Boy or our other missing teammates are still alive... I'm sure they are, but I have no idea when we'll see them again."

Harbinger spoke again. "So during the planning we guessed that the Dark Army is holding back because the Dark Lord is hoping the Dream-Eater will convert us into his mindless slaves. And if that falls through when the Dream-Eater is destroyed..."

IB nodded. "We already have a backup plan in the works, but given the potential size of the army, we'll be in a defensive position. We have to either work on an escape plan, or hope Power Boy comes through in time to back us up."

Quislet and Harbinger looked at each other again, then nodded. "Thanks for being honest with us, IB," Quis said, shaking IB's hand. "Realistic hope is better than unfounded optimisim."

"Be safe tomorrow, okay? You've come a long way, but you still have a long life ahead of you," Harbinger smiled.

"We all do," IB grinned back. "That's why we worked so hard on the plan - to make sure we lose nobody tomorrow."

With a smile, Harbinger and Quislet left IB. He heaved a sigh; he wished things were more certain, but...

As he rounded another corner, he spotted Kalla and Lon. With a wave, he walked up to them. They hadn't spent a lot of time together in the short interval between his revealing himself and the parting of the Fellowship, but they were still comrades.

Lon grinned and nodded. IB knew Lon had smelled him way back then, and had been amused by his sudden appearance. "You've toughened up since the Dominion, kid," he said in greeting.

"Just doing my best to keep up with all of you," IB winked back. He turned to Kalla. "I wanted to thank you again for raising your concern about me surviving the Dream-Eater."

Kalla smiled a small smile. "I didn't raise it solely because I was concerned about your well-being, you know."

IB returned the grin. "I know. You were worried that I hadn't looked through the alternatives carefully, and that my potential loss would have left gaps in the defenses after destroying the Dream-Eater. Right?"

Kalla smiled a broader smile this time. "You're a sharp young man, aren't you? And I suppose you guessed how I knew you wouldn't be strong enough?"

IB smiled. "I'm sure you had your ways of measuring my strength level, considering we have similar powersets. I don't mind; anyone with access to the LMB files could guess how powerful I am. But I did want to let you know that, even though I am more powerful than you are, you're an equally vital member of our group. After all, I don't have your fierce determination." IB held out his hand. "Thanks, I look forward to working with you more."

Kalla seemed a little surprised at that. "And I don't have your purity and earnestness." She smiled as she took his hand. "It's actually quite refreshing."

IB nodded, and grinned as they parted ways. He'd found that one of the best ways to break through people's guards was a little sincerity.

Whistling to himself, he walked off to find Blaze.

**************************************************

Gear worked feverishly to complete his part of the project. Each of the handpicked team had to do his or her part perfectly; one slip-up and nothing would work right.

He couldn't fail. He wouldn't let this world be lost as well. He...

Gear reacted instinctively as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He gripped the hand while turning around in one smooth movement, and drawing a blaster with the other. He stopped as he saw Petty Officer Marvin, eyes wider than ever, his mouth open in surprise. "Um, I guess you're not hungry?" Marvin asked.

Gear relaxed as he let Marvin go. "I'm sorry. It's not easy to get used to relative peace after years living under tyranny."

Marvin smiled as he rubbed his arm. "My old world wasn't much better than yours. It'll come in time." Marvin gestured towards the table at the side of the room. "Come on, it's been three hours. You owe yourself a break."

Gear thought of protesting, then relaxed. He was still on schedule, after all. "Lead the way," he said, smiling. He followed Marvin over to where Reboot and Kid Prime (in his normal-sized body) sat.

"And here I thought you were trying to usurp my title as biggest workaholic on the team," Reboot said as Gear sat down.

"Believe me, that is way beyond any of us at this point," Kid Prime replied.

Gear forced a smile. He wasn't quite used to this level of joking, and wondered how these LMBers could be so lighthearted when so much was at stake.

"So Marvin, where's the latest addition to our team?" Reboot said with a smirk. "I would have thought your friend would hurry up given the tight doomsday clock we're trying to outrace."

Marvin shrugged his shoulders. "If I know the guy, and believe me I do, he probably got lost again. Always been lousy at directions... He could get lost in the Legion World gym."

Reboot's reply was drowned out as the door slammed open. "Why, you big palooka! You do realize this means war, right? Can I help it if I took that wrong turn at Ardemo?" In the doorway stood a large rabbit-like creature that was at least as tall as a very tall humanoid male.

"Bugs! You big maroon, late as usual!" Marvin grinned as he hugged his old friend. He turned to the others. "I want you to meet Petty Officer Bugs; we served in the UP army together. He knows almost as much about explosives as I do."

"Almost as much? Why, you stinker!" Bugs grinned. He held his hand in greeting. "What's up, docs? You all ready to make some magic? I have the stuff you need right here," Bugs said conspiratorially as he held up a pouch.

Despite himself, Gear grinned. As if Petty Officer Marvin's big round eyes and ancient Earth-style helmet weren't bad enough, now he would be working with a loud, gray-furred, anthropomorphic sentient rabbit. The sheer novelty of the situation was almost enough to make him laugh. Working with the LMB was definitely going to be quite the experience.

*************************************************

"How are you doing, Tim?"

Time-Teller Lad opened his eyes to see Rockhopper Lad and Invisible Brainiac standing at his bed.

"IB, it's been a while... If I'm right, it's been at least 27 days, 16 hours, 32 minutes and 17 seconds since we last spoke." Tim said groggily. "I'm good, how about you?"

"Fine too, thanks," IB grinned. Tim was close to his age, and IB always thought they'd get along. "We can catch up later, but right now we have a small favor to ask you. It looks like your time sense is up and running."

"We're about to undertake an operation that requires split-second timing and coordination," Rockhopper Lad added. "Tim, if you're up to it, will you help us?"

"Mmmmm... I don't think I can get up yet, but if I can be useful here from my bed, count me in."

Rocky smiled. "Attaboy Tim. IB will brief you tomorrow morning. For now, sleep tight."

IB and Rocky exited quietly as Time-Teller Lad settled back into his pillows with a big smile on his face. It felt good to be playing such an important role in something so big.

Weber's World

Phase III - The Operation

Unlike with the arrival of the Dark Army, the LMBers had decided to keep this operation relatively quiet. There was no telling whether the enemy had planted spies among their forces, and it was best to be cautious.

The ship carrying all those who would be involved in the operation flew through space. All were silent; they knew and trusted in the plan, but recent experiences had shown them that even the best-laid plans can go terribly awry.

And so the hunt began.

************************************************

"We're coming up on the coordinates that He Who Wanders sent us. Anything, Kid Vudoo?" Rockhopper Lad asked.

Kid Vudoo squinted, though his mighty vision powers were such that he hardly needed to. "Not yet, Rocky. But if he's still here, I'll find him."

Below, Invisible Brainiac addressed the assembled heroes who would take part in the operation. "You all know your parts, and we've all practiced extensively. Remember, this operation requires perfect timing. We've done our best to minimize the danger, but if any of you still want to back out, we won't think any less of you."

Shark Lad nudged Timber Wolf playfully. "I think IB means you, you Fluffykins."

Timber Wolf gave a small bow. "After you, little guppy."

Infra-Red Lass gave a small smile. "After crossing the dimensional gap to help out, we're not about to back out now."

IB grinned. "Just had to make sure. Okay, I know you all can probably do this in your sleep, but let's run through this one more time..."

They were interrupted by Kid Vudoo's alert. The normally steadfast hero sounded petrified by what he saw. "I see him! I see IT!"

Everyone turned to stare out the window as He Who Wanders streaked across space, the Dream-Eater following closely behind.

"He doesn't look well," Blacula observed quietly.

"I'm ready to pick him up," the Earth-4 Outdoor Miner said. "Just give the word already, so I can get on taxi duty."

"I'll go with you so I can turn us all invisible," IB said.

"I believe we're all ready. Let the operation commence - and godspeed, everyone." said Rocky. It was part order and part prayer.

*************************************************

The two Shark Lads looked on as He Who Wanders seemed to disappear in mid-flight. The Dream-Eater slowly came to a stop, its quarry gone.

"You ready?" the Earth-1 Sharky asked.

"As ever, though I wish our job involved smashing something," answered the Earth-4 Sharky.

"If IB's hunch is right, we'll get plenty of that once this is over. Anyway, let's go."

"INYUKCHUK!"

"Hey, over here you big puffy marshmallow! I've eaten cotton candy tougher than you!"

"I don't think it can hear us, but that sounds like a lot of fun. Hey, you stinking son of a Venusian pusworm!"

"I think it's working. It's atarting to turn towards us. Hey puffball, I've seen faster reflexes on my grandma, and she don't even have all her fins anymore!"

"What's with you, too scared to eat two forty-foot sharks?"

"Say, it's starting to move faster. Should we get out of here?"

"No, not yet. IB said to wait until it was almost on top of us."

"It's moving surprisingly fast, you know. I don't think our teeth will do much good here. What's the matter, afraid to get us without backup? You move like a scurch!!"

"Yeah, and even if we wanted get out we have to wait for our ride. Whoa! I had no idea it was that fast! Geez, you look awful! Like watered down tar!"

"Sharkys to IB, this thing is starting to send its tentacles at us. We gonna get out of here soon? Hey ugly, no grabbing at us on the first date!"

"Jeez this thing is cold! I'd call you slimy, but I have a lot of friends who'd hate to be compared with you!"

"Okay, gross. Punching this is like punching blobby Hykrian jellyfish. Say, how do I know I'm still talking to you? IB said getting caught equals hallucination."

"We're not caught yet, but you wanna pinch yourself and see if you'll wake up?"

"Sharkys to IB, we getting out any time soon? I don't wanna see pink unicorns shooting rainbows out of their asses!"

"IB here. Sorry, guys. This thing jams telepathy to an extent. Tim's been keeping us on track, and your exit's on the way."

"About time," the Earth-1 Sharky said as he dodged another tentacle. Already, his left hand was covered in ooze. "This thing makes me wanna puke!"

"Maybe you can wait to do that before we get back to the ship?" said another voice.

"And who are you?" asked the Earth-4 Sharky as he sliced through a couple of dark inky tentacles.

"Name's Future. Now shrink, duck and close your eyes... Okay, open."

The two Sharkys complied, and saw in amazement that they were now floating a few meters below the Dream-Eater.

"Okay, how'd you do that?" asked the Earth-4 Shark Lad.

"I can... timeslip, although carrying passengers is... tiring... to say the least," Future gasped for breath. "Most I could do... was jump us a couple microseconds in the future... Which is why..."

"Which is why we had to shrink," the Earth-1 Sharky guessed. "So we'd be out of range of the Dream-Eater's mass. Nice."

"Then we'd better get outta here and let the others do their job," the Earth-4 Sharky said. "Sharkys to IB. Future came and got us. Send the next squad in. We'll meet you at the ship."

"Come on, Future," Earth-1 Sharky said as he tapped his massive back. "Hitch a ride. Don't worry, I won't bite."

Future gingerly gripped Sharky's shoulder as the trio made their way back to the ship.

*************************************************

Kairos bit her lip as she looked at the mighty He Who Wanders, who was being escorted to the medi-bay. Such a powerful LMBer, and he was floored by that... that thing they'd be fighting.

What chance did the rest of them have if they were caught?

She jumped as she felt something on her shoulder. She spun around to face Invisible Brainiac.

"Whoa, easy there, Kairos. Are you ready for your part?"

Kairos nodded, uneasily. "Do I have a choice? I know my powers are needed."

"Attagirl. Don't worry, we've thought this out very well. Your part's important but we've minimized the danger. The others are ready."

"Then so am I."

Kairos flew over to the airlock with the rest of her squad. Rockhopper Lad smiled at her encouragingly. "A mild case of the jitters, I suppose? Don't worry, you're in good hands here."

Kairos tried to force a smile, but couldn't. She knew she wouldn't have to touch the thing, but... it hardly made things easier. Luckily, she was saved from having to reply when the airlock opened. She pushed herself off - she needed to go first.

"Grife, that thing is huge,," she thought. "Never used my powers on anything even half this big before."

She waited anxiously as she saw the cloud approach the two Shark Lads. It was reaching out to them, and still they were taunting it! They were really brave.

Time-Teller Lad's countdown sprung in her head telepathically. "You are go in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... now!" At that exact instant, the two Shark Lads disappeared, and then reappeared in an instant just under the Dream-Eater. Kairos saw they had a third hero with them. They were clear, and it was her turn.

Her golden aura sprung up around her as she generated the biggest stasis bubble she could muster. It settled around the Dream-Eater like a sheath.

"Easy, Kairos. Nice. We have to make the bubble as tight around that thing as possible so it won't affect the speed of Squad 3."

"I'm trying...! I think I've gotten it settled around. The rest of you are good to go."

At her signal, the LMB's Mattropolis and his SMB counterpart Danny Blaine used their gravity powers to propel themselves to opposite ends of the cloud. Their hands and eyes glowed a deep purple, and their aura began to envelope the Dream-Eater too. "We're done. It's locked in constant gravity."

Rockhopper Lad and Rockhopper Lass stepped forward for their turn. Rockhopper Lad smiled at Adelie, who returned his smile and nodded. They unleashed their ice powers and caged the Dream-Eater in a hollow block of ice.

The five heroes stepped back to admire their handiwork. "I'd like to see it get past that," Mattropolis grinned.

"Careful what you wish for, "bro"," Danny Blaine replied somberly. The Earth-4 contingent tended to be a tad more pessimistic than their Earth-1 counterparts. He quickly signalled the ship. "Third squad, you're good to go!"

The Realm of the Dark Lord

Step by step, inch by inch, the two Legionnaires walked the perilous journey towards the long-coming final destination. They were now beyond pain; beyond exhaustion. At times they would grow so tired, it seemed as if their eyes would shut and consciousness would leave them…but still they would walk. Their bodies never gave out. Not once.

The pond had refreshed them in more ways than they truly knew. It gave an added strength to their bodies and nourishment to their souls. Small cuts and scars had healed as infections retreated momentarily. And while those things now returned as the journey grew ever more perilous, they realized the enchanted pond had given them just enough to see this through. Undoubtedly they would be long dead. They were now entirely without food and only the scarcest bits of water. But still they pushed on…feeling that they must be close. They simply must be.

Ahead of them, their ghostly guide kept up the pace. They had little to say to her, and the feeling was mutual. Mordra, dead but not gone, had an agenda that aligned with her greatest enemies. As Lard Lad and Cobalt Kid looked up to see her ghostly image…sometimes so hard to make out they were unsure she was still there, a sickening feeling crept into their stomachs.

Cobalt looked at his friend but choose not to speak his mind. If he was feeling sickened and worried about following Mordra, how did Lardy feel? Surely it was ten fold, though Cobalt had no lack of hatred for the Harlot. He took in the sight of his friend: the long journey prior to the Dark Realm had made its mark on his comrade’s physique and now the Realm itself heightened it. The “lard” in Lard Lad was hard to see; instead, his toned muscles were easier to make out, and the jolly roundness of the legendary hero were all but gone. Cobalt knew he himself looked beyond frail. Starved and worked to the bone, he tried not to think about how much weight he’d dropped on this journey thus far. Thoughts of the incredible meal he would have when it was all over—either with the Legion or in the afterlife—were now gone; he was simply too starved to even find a hunger anymore.

At long last, they saw Mordra had stopped ahead. Even now, after all that had passed between them, the two heroes prepared themselves for betrayal. But she simply smiled at them…a confident smile that was alarming yet welcome. For they quickly saw why: in the far-off distance they would see the massive structure that awaited them. The Fortress of Pornis.

It’s frame was massive beyond imagining. It went in all directions as far as the eye could see. To either side it extended, and then behind the outer walls, massive towers and castles existed within—structures within structures. Though still far, they could see the mortar was dark—obsidian black. It did not shimmer or glimmer or dazzle. It simply was a deep, all-consuming black…so deep, you could almost fall into it whole.

Lard Lad turned to Cobalt and saw his friend was smiling. He smiled back. “We can do this,” he said, assuringly.

“All roads lead here,” said Cobalt with a nod.

“You both should rest,” said Mordra to them. “The journey is still far.”

“No,” said Lard Lad suddenly, feeling an anxiety creeping into his heart. “No more rest. We have to get there. Now.”

Cobalt felt a chill go up his spine at Lardy’s comments but simply nodded. This far in, they had to follow their guts. “Let’s keep moving then,” he said. Both were too tired to have an in depth conversation about it.

The two continued their path and for a moment, the ghost of Mordra looked on in amazement. No wonder… she must have thought. No wonder these Legionnaires bested me. They have a willpower rarely seen in the history of heroes…



The long journey continued, and dusk brought nightime, which eventually gave way to dawn. Still, they walked towards the fortress. Dawn led to daytime and eventually back towards dusk. Still, it continued. And then, at long last…they arrived. Covered in dirt, starved, exhausted and frazzled, the Legionnaires arrived at the fortress.

“We’re approaching from the east gate,” said Mordra. “A side entrance. The dusk and your…”humble” appearance have worked as good cover. Continuing when you did was the right choice.” Lard Lad said nothing to that. “Follow my lead,” she added.

As the two heroes approached the fortress, the enormity of their actions began to hit them. Perhaps it was the dark and powerful will of Pornis which caused all things in the realm to bend and often break. Or perhaps it was the dreariness of the journey and the never-ending trauma. Or perhaps simply it was that both men were human beings, and the magnitude of their actions finally registered within their minds? Whatever the case, as they began walking into the structure, they felt immense fear grip their hearts.

Terror. Pure, unfiltered, true terror.

The barren landscape came to an end, and a long, stone pathway ascended before them. On both sides there were torches lighting the way, as the path extended onwards to the main castle. As they viewed it, Lard Lad realized he had seen this once before.

Cobalt noticed the reluctance. “Lardy?”

“I’ve seen this before, Des,” said Lardy. “In my dreams. The prophetic ones…”

Cobalt said nothing because he had nothing to say. The fear between them was thick and almost soupy. It was palpable and real. Cobalt realized he was trembling.

Mordra began walking forward and they followed. As they walked up the path, they could not see beyond the torchlight on either side of it. Just on the outskirts, there was a grayness…almost a mist, yet something supernatural. Soon they began to hear voices just beyond the path, and movement. There were things out there, just beyond reach. But they were not idol…they were trying to enter the path. They were calling to Lardy and Cobalt.

“Do not stray from the path,” said Mordra solemnly. “It will be your end. Walk forward. DO NOT STRAY,” she added once more.

The two heroes did as they were told yet they could not help but look into the outskirts. Beyond the noise, they could now start to see images. There were people out there. Things were happening. And all at once they began to realize what they were seeing was phantom images. Not ghosts like Mordra trying to enter the path; rather, they were seeing actual events taking place far away…in another place…or time…

“What you see are images from your pasts, your present and your future. Do not be seduced by them. Do not stray,” Mordra repeated.

Cobalt Kid looked deep into the outskirts and realized she was right. He recognized much of what he saw, but not all of it. A woman, holding a baby. She held it close to her chest and in that moment, she felt nothing other than pure, true love for her child. No matter what would one day come, in that moment she loved him. She loved Cobalt more than anything in the world. “Mother…” said Cobalt, as tears ran down his cheeks. He extended his hand and saw it was shaking uncontrollably with fear.

Lolita, huddled in the trenchcoat they often shared, tears running down her face. All over her hands and chest was blood…and none of it, he knew was hers.

The sweetest lips he’d ever seen inching closer to his own as an Asian woman, beautiful beyond description, nuzzled her body against his, opening his heart in a way it hadn’t been for many years.

Dr. Hoffman, injecting him with something…telling him he would likely die from it before sunrise, all while the barbarian laughed behind him.

Kent Shakespeare, playing a large golden Harp, and saving the multiverse.

Crujectra. So many images of Crujectra. All of them from the past.

And he and Lardy. Young. With Lash, and Seahorse, and Lou and Crusader and Paul and all the rest. Laughing. Always laughing.

“We’ll laugh more, I promise,” he said out loud at last.

Lard Lad was looking at images of his own past, present and future. “What…?” he said, not quite hearing his friend.

“If we live through this…” said Cobalt, not truly believing they actually would do so, “…we’ll laugh more, again.” He wondered what Lardy saw beyond the veil.

Cobalt looked ahead and Mordra had stopped. She waited as they caught up to her. “The pathaway is at an end. Be careful now…there are enemies everywhere.”

Lard Lad and Cobalt Kid could read between the lines. Up ahead, they could hear two guards talking loudly, lax in their service as they believed no one would ever have the courage to make it this far and actually approach the Fortress. They were well armored in metal and leather, making their features underneath impossible to make out. In their hands were large polearms—spearlike weapons with metal hooks on the end, perfect for ripping someone apart at a distance. One was laughing while the other was telling him a joke in a cruel, ugly language.

Lard Lad and Cobalt Kid winked at one another as a burst of adrenaline—coming from a place they did not know existed, provided them with some extra strength. Several hard punches, chokes, kicks and slams later, both guards were unconscious with no powers used. “Guess we didn’t get the joke,” said Lard Lad with a smile.

Cobalt looked the rags they were both basically in at this point, and the almost non-existent backpacks, tools, gear and rations they had with them. They were close to almost no possessions at all after this journey. “I wouldn’t mind a change of clothes, I guess…” he said with a smile, as Lardy had already figured out their next play on his own.

The two heroes put on the guards armor and grabbed the weapons. They discarded many of their possessions that could not be hidden underneath the armor. They looked like two ugly guards of the Fortress of Pornis. They looked up, now almost right on top of the large structure itself for the first time. The sinking feeling in their stomach crept back in, as did the fear. Still, they pushed on.

Lard Lad and Cobalt Kid, fitting right in with their new disguises, fell right in step with a passing line of Pornis's guardsmen. As the line passed by a bridge that appeared to lead directly to the castle, the pair broke off onto the bridge. They crouched carefully against the bridge's wall, making sure that they were unnoticed.

They watched until all of them were out of sight and then continued across the long bridge.

Cobalt paused and peered into the distance at all the moving torches. Then, he said, "I think they're mobilizing, Lardy. It looks like there are other phalanxes moving along the perimeter. They're expecting company soon."

"You think it's us they're expecting?"

"Hard to be sure...but I don't think so. My gut tells me it's the U.P. forces...and possibly the LMB."

Lardy's face brightened. "You really think so? You think they saved Weber's World and found a way to get here? Gods! That would be GREAT news!"

Cobie's haggard face didn't brighten. "I dunno, Lardy. My gut also tells me that Pornis wants this to happen. Look up in the sky."

Lardy looked up where Cobie was pointing and could make out countless vile, dark shapes travelling outward. "What are they?"

"Pornis's air infantry. And there's lots more where those came from, I'd imagine. If our friends make it here, it's quite possible that what they've seen so far is just a hint of what they'll get here."

"Maybe there's some way to warn them off?"

"I don't have any tricks up my sleeve, right now. Besides, I'm pretty damn sure they'd still come anyway! The best thing we can do for them is take Pornis down like we're supposed to."

Lardy nodded grimly. "Yeah, I suppose so. First thing's first..." He leaned over the side of the bridge. "...I think that's the Moat of Doom down there."

Cobie leaned over as well and saw a vast bright reddish-orange river of lava below. He remembered the prophecy that Lardy described. Lardy would have to dip his sword in the Moat and use it to destroy the Eye of XXXauron that lay inside the locket that Lardy had worn around his neck since his half-sister Lucifer Lass gave it to him in the early stages of this quest. Destroying the Eye, they learned, would take away Pornis's immortality and sever one of his wells of power.

"It sure looks Doom-y to me," Cobalt said, his eyes in awe of the river of death far below. "Maybe we should ask Mordra to be sure?"

The two turned around and saw that their ghostly guide was nowhere in sight. She disappeared intermittently during their journey, supposedly because she couldn't maintain her form for long periods of time. They realized then that they hadn't seen Mordra since they took down those two guards.

"It's okay, Cobie," Lardy said with a haunted look. "It's the right place.....I can feel it."

Cobie trusted his friend's intuition, as he always had. "It's a long way down there, Lardy. I don't know how we can get close enough to dip your sword in it. Maybe we could just toss the Eye in?"

Lardy shook his head. "No, Des. It has to be done this way. Maybe it'll be easier to reach closer to the far side?"

Cobie nodded, and they continued across the long bridge. They walked slowly, expecting a blindside attack all the way. But one never came. They were either truly undetected....or, they secretly feared, were being baited into a trap.

The silence and tension were getting to Cobie so much that he had to break the ice. "Lardy....on that path we were on with all the torches lit...I saw some weird things..." He described the images he saw of the past, present and future. "Did you see anything?"

"I saw lots of things, Des. I saw sweet, beautiful Leelee on our first date." He looked around to make sure Mordra was still not around. "I saw myself breaking Mordra's neck."

"I saw me and Tempest holding a baby girl. And I saw that girl all grown up--she was receiving the Intergalactic Medal of Peace presented to her by the U.P. and the Khunds!"

"Wow, Lardy! It looks like you and Tempest have quite a future ahead of you!"

Lardy smiled, "gods, I sure hope so!" Then, his face darkened. "I-I saw a couple of other things, too. It was my old Lard Master...Dom. He was lying on the ground severely wounded. And he was looking up as a shadow was being cast over him. Des...if I destroy the Eye, I could be killing Dom and the Order of Lard Knights! Dom, Serj and all of the others will be powerless!"

"Lardy, all of the Knights were trained as you were. They don't rely strictly on their powers. And you learned recently that they unwittingly make Pornis more powerful by utilizing the so-called 'Lard Force' energies that come from him. They wouldn't want to be used like that. I'd wager they'd rather die than serve a great evil like him."

"You...you're right, Des. But if I do this, I'll still have blood on my hands. I guess I'll know if I can do that in a little while."

Both went silent. Cobie stopped again suddenly. "There was something else, wasn't there, Lardy."

Lardy suddenly teared up fiercely. "Th-there was, Des. I-I don't know if I can bear to tell you. I th-thought maybe it was just some trick of the mind, b-but the more I think about it...th-the more I know it's true..."

Cobie steeled himself and told his friend, "it's okay, Lardy. I want to know."

"I-it's Dev, Des. He...he died."

Somehow, Cobie knew this was what his friend was going to tell him. But it hurt no less. His own tears came hard and fast. And the two friends embraced each other and took a moment to grieve. Both admired the great hero known as Dev Em and had served with him since the earliest days of the LMB. But most of all, both men loved Dev as a brother.

"Gods, Des," Lardy said, "there was so much I wanted to say to him! He stood up to me when I was Chief and making all the wrong decisions. I never thanked him for what he did. I..."

"He knew, Lardy," Cobie told him with absolute certainty. "He knew! He was a better, more honest man than either of us." Tears still streaming down his face, he added, "let's honor his memory by preserving all that he ever stood for, Lardy."

Lardy's eyes showed his resolve. "Yes, we'll mourn him properly later...after we make sure his death was not in vain."

Both nodded and proceeded to the end of the bridge.

They stood before a giant door. But entering it would come later. First, they would have to get down to the edge of the Moat. Off the right side of where the bridge ended, they saw a narrow path leading down toward the edge of the vast river of smoldering lava.

"Well, here goes nothing," Lardy whispered and the two sidled carefully down the perilous walkway.

Weber's World

Phase III - The Operation

"How long do we have to stay shrunk again?"

Invisible Brainiac sighed. He hated explaining things repeatedly in the best of times, but it was especially grating now that they were in the middle of a big operation.

"Okay, look. We don't know how much time we have before that thing breaks free, or the rest of the Dark Army attacks in an attempt to free it. So can I at least explain while we're already out there? You know, because I already explained it before?"

"Okay, Okaaaaaaaaaay. Just asking, you know," Shining Son said as he raised his hands.

"Sorry... I'm a bit nervous," IB said as he forced a smile. Blaze patted IB's shoulder reassuringly. IB did a quick headcount - all 23 heroes in this particular squad were present. "Each of our ten mini-squads has to get as far deep into the Dream-Eater as possible. Although our individual powers can help protect us while we're inside, the fastest way in is to teleport."

"IB, you are go," came Saturn Girl's gentle telepathic call.

IB led his squad forward out of the ship. The Dream-Eater loomed in front of them.

"Shades of Yellow Kid!" someone breathed. "Even trapped like that, it still looks menacing!"

"That's why we paired everyone up, and that's another reason we're shrinking - we're hoping it'll react more slowly to tiny opponents. Also, although Outdoor Miner here is a great teleporter, his discs port everything in their path - we don't want to risk any of the Dream-Eater's matter getting out. Unlike Xben, here, who can teleport discrete objects no bigger than a grain of sand."

As they flew to the Dream-Eater, IB glanced at their comrades who were keeping it imprisoned. So far, so good. "Remember, Reboot warned us not to keep the bombs shrunk for more than half an hour. Integrity might be compromised. One squad member keeps the Dream-Eater at bay, the other calibrates the bomb. When it's ready, think out loud and Saturn Girl will tell OM and Xben to get you out of there."

"With Legion Tracker's and Kid Vudoo's help," Saturn Girl added. "Just to help Xben trace where you are."

"Okay, now... Whoa!" IB yelled as a burst of energy nearly took his head off. In the distance, an army of ghouls were attacking! His fellow heroes made as if to go after them.

"No, keep going!" IB said. "These ghouls must know the Dream-Eater is in trouble, but ignore them. Let Kar-Em's squad handle them."

"Consider it done, lad," Kar-Em said telepathically as he flew at the lead ship and crippled its propulsion system. Behind him, Minesurfer rammed a plastic pipe through another ship's tail. Korbal erupted with energy as he destroyed a dragon. Lone Wolf Legionnaire decapitated another. 235-Andy S, Director Lad and Krypton Kid likewise dispatched their opponents with aplomb.

Nearly a dozen more LMBers and volunteers flew behind them - IB recognized a Tharrian recruit as she froze some skeletons in blocks of ice, and a Bismollian chewed through a knight's lance. There was even an Imskian who was eerily effective, shrinking and growing rapidly to confuse his opponents.

"I never knew Cuddly Beaver was so dangerous," Blaze said under his breathe.

"We're here," IB said. "Everyone ready?"

"As we'll ever be," Space Ranger said. Even he looked queasy.

"Don't worry, everyone. It'll tingle a bit, but we've tested my power," Vee said. He waved his hands as the entire group save for Xben and Outdoor Miner shrank.

"That... was kind of amazing," Timber Wolf laughed now that they were tiny.

"As long as it doesn't become a permanent thing..." Sonnie Bloke mumbled.

"Okay, all, get into your assigned pod in Vee's hand," IB said. "And good luck."

*************************************************

"Okay, Pod 4 is in place," Xben breathed as the fourth grain-sized pod left his hand. "How are we doing, Time-Teller Lad?"

"6 minutes, 17 seconds so far. Good enough time."

Vee shook his head. "We should try to be a bit faster, we still have 6 pods to plant. OM, if you please?"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with, since our ships aren't fast or accurate enough to get us around," OM said. "Let's head to the next spot." With that, they teleported away.

*************************************************

On the surface of Weber's World, the battle continued to rage weakly. There were still a few isolated groups of ghouls on the planet.

"Bad guys never seem to know when to give up," Hugh Taylor said glumly as he bounced off a centaur. "Seth!"

"On it," Seth Gaterra said as he caught the ghoul and disintegrated it.

"I don't mind," smiled Gay Green Giant as he cocked his arm. "Gives me a chance to workout!" The titanic LMBer hit a large monstrosity and sent it flying into the air.

"Incoming at three o'clock!" yelled Haggard Lad as he ran up to them. As always, he looked exhausted, but he was still fighting the good fight.

"Oh, WOW!" said Pariscub as he turned to see. "That is one huge ship!"

"But wait... it's not landing. It's... leaving?" Blockade Boy said in surprise.

"It's just as we feared," Portfolio Boy said. "Spellbinder, the ghouls planetside ARE leaving. They must be headed to free the Dream-Eater."

"Then we'd best join that fight too," Hugh Taylor sighed. "Let's pick a few to stay here in case; the rest of us better back up the guys in space."

Weber's World

Phase III - The Operation

21:30 minutes left to calibrate

Jerry, Blaze and Invisible Brainiac-Green hovered behind Vee, Xben and the Earth-4 Outdoor Miner as Xben planted the 6th pod.

"I hate this waiting," Blaze complained. "I keep worrying that they won't make it in time."

"They will. They're LMBers, after all," Jerry said confidently.

"Most of them, anyway. And we all practiced over and over," IB Green added. "Let's just remember our part."

"Yes, I memorized it. As each team finishes calibrating their bomb, Xben teleports them out while Vee regrows their bomb. When all ten teams have planted theirs, the three of us go in and set the timers."

"Very good," IB Green said as he ruffled Blaze's hair playfully. "Glad you were paying attention to someone other than Angdar."

"HEY!" Blaze laughed. "I'll get you for this later. Tickle tickle!"

"Ah, the resilience of youth..." Jerry smiled. "Come on, OM's getting ready for the next jump."

*************************************************

19:40 minutes left to calibrate

"Grife, do we have to have this telepathic countdown screaming in our heads while we do this?" Shining Son griped as he kept his solar shield up.

"It's hardly a "scream"," Kalla replied as she focused her light powers outwards, joining with Shining Son's to form a protective bubble.

"And we do need to keep our timing tight," Timber Wolf added as he calibrated the bomb.

"It'd be easier if we didn't have to extend our shield around too much," Shining Son said. "You're adding a lot of extra mass..."

He cut off as Kalla turned and stared right into his eyes. "I, for one, am glad Lon came along. His presence allows you and me to focus on shielding us from the Dream-Eater," with this, she pointed to the inky black mass outside for emphasis. "I do believe we need to keep as much of our focus on the job as possible, no?"

Shining Son couldn't help but gulp. "Yes, Ma'am."

*************************************************

19:28 minutes left to calibrate

"How are you doing, Icefire?" the Orange IB asked as he spread his light far and wide.

"Fair enough. Thanks for bringing me along on this important mission," Icefire said as he kept his flame hot and bright. "Even though I'm scared stiff, I'll remember this forever!"

"That's the spirit," IB Orange grinned. "And you, Portfolio Girl?"

"I don't really think this is a memory to be cherished, but I'm ready," she replied. "Let me just release my monsters; I know they're the main reason I'm here."

"Only the inorganic ones, just in case," IB Orange reminded as Portfolio Girl released her case.

Out floated a chandelier that breathed fire; what looked like a flying saucer that radiated electricity; a large glowing ball with a face; a microwave oven that glowed with energy; three robotic pink-and-blue ducks; and a pink blob.

"And all of these radiate light?" Icefire said, dumbfounded.

"Not yet," Portfolio Girl smiled. Suddenly, the pink blob shimmered... and morphed into a perfect likeness of Invisible Brainiac. "Now, they all do."

"Now I've seen everything," Icefire muttered as the monsters took their positions around Portfolio Girl.

*************************************************

17:47 minutes left to calibrate

"I don't see why we needed to join them. Couldn't we have simply gone through your Poltergeist Area?" Blacula asked as he, in his mist form, kept the Dream-Eater's matter at bay.

Intangible except for his hands, Dedman looked up briefly from the bomb. "I wouldn't want to risk any parts of this monstrosity corrupting my home. We still don't fully understand it, and it's apparently alive enough to resist my full powers over the departed."

Blacula sighed. "And yet, it's also deceased enough to resist some of mine. Things certainly are not as simple as they used to be, when we first joined up."

"Such is the way of the universe, alas. At least, though, we are becoming quite good at adapting."

"I'll say. In this war alone, I have seen some very creative power uses. Like Xben and Vee, for instance." Blacula paused as the darkness seemed to pound against his mist. "Hm. It's starting to resist. We should leave soon."

"Almost done," Dedman replied as he flipped a few more switches. "I wouldn't want this bomb to go off prematurely... but for that matter, I don't want to be stuck at this size forever, either. Which is what will happen if we exceed the half-hour deadline."

"Let's get cracking then," Blacula said grimly.

*************************************************

16:36 minutes left to calibrate

"It just never ends, does it?" Ghost Girl said as she evaded a Dark soldier. Before the startled man could react, she turned around and punched him in the face. "Watch it, Kid!" she said as she spun around again.

"Thanks, GG," Kid Heavyfeathers said as he swung a sack full of his feathers to take off the head of a zombie. "I can't imagine how you Earth-1ers can keep smiling so in the face of all this conflict!"

"Ah, but the trick is to keep the optimism high!" said Loser Lad as his negative powers caused two wyverns to collide. "You wanna join in, Ghost Girl? Some of us have a bet as to who can take out the most ghouls."

"Surprisingly, I think Floating Foxlike Creature is winning," said Little Rhino. "Maybe he should challenge Cuddly Beaver?"

"Oh yeah? Maybe he should watch out for ME," Petty Officer Bugs grinned. "Hey everybody, see that large tall man with the cigar over there? Clear out of the immediate area and close your eyes!"

As the other defenders complied, Petty Officer Bugs pressed a button.

The ghoul and all the others in its area vanished in a flash of light. As the explosion settled down, all that was left were ashes.

"Always a show-off," Petty Officer Marvin said as he shook his head. "But I still have you beat by 23 ghouls."

Another explosion went off in the background, and the squad turned to stare. All that remained were the horns and skeletons of six horned demons.

"Make that 29," Marvin grinned.

Weber's World

Phase III - The Operation

15:57 minutes left to calibrate

"Too bad we were the last pod to get dropped off," Abin said testily as he kept his ring shield tight and thick. "I'd like to get out of here fast so we can join the battle outside."

Harbinger said patiently, "Our role here is important too."

"Yeah, but... it's a lot more boring!" Abin replied as he changed the shape of their protective bubble - first into a cube, than to a pyramid, then to a shape of Kid Prime's visage. "I hate just standing here and playing defense while you work on the..."

"I'm done," Harbinger said simply. She straightened and cracked her knuckles. "Xben, would you mind picking us up?"

"Wha..." Abin stared, open-mouthed.

"You can accomplish a lot with a little focus," Harbinger smiled.

*************************************************

14:38 minutes left to calibrate

"I think we two may be making the best team yet," Poverty Lad smiled as the dark tentacles passed through his intangible form.

"I heartily agree," Rouge smiled as his energy form was likewise unaffected.

A short silence passed as Poverty Lad continued to work on the bomb. Finally, Rouge spoke. "You know, Pov, we've both been on the team for quite some time, but... There's something I've always wanted to ask you."

"Yes?" Pov said as he kept tinkering with the bomb.

"Do... Are you... I mean... Do you really not wear pants?"

"Well, I AM a shapeshifter. And as IB told Blaze, I previously did use the codename Pantsless Lad."

"Oh. Okay." Rouge really wished Poverty Lad didn't have his back turned to him at the moment, because he had no idea whether he was joking or not.

*************************************************

14:21 minutes left to calibrate

"Something else else's not quite right here," Space Ranger frowned as he worked on the bomb.

"You mean, besides us being shrunk and stuck inside this big black blob?" IB Red asked.

"Yes. It's the bomb's matter. I'm pretty sure it's not quite sliding as... smoothly? As it was when we were working on it in the lab."

"Hmmm... Might be our imagination, but then again, best not to ignore. I'll telepath the others."

*************************************************

13:38 minutes left to calibrate


"Got your message, IB," Saturn Girl said. She quickly pathed another message to Reboot and Gear. "IB and Ranger think the Dream-Eater may be affecting the bomb metal in some way. Can you confirm?"

"We've been testing it," came Reboot's reply. "Get back to you in a couple minutes."

"OM, get ready to pick Abin and Harbi up. I'm linking you to their location. Are Kid Vudoo's and Legion Tracker's powers helping?"

"Affirmative," came Xben's reply. "It's like they're beaming a map into our heads."

"Hear that, boys? You two are doing great," Saturn Girl smiled. "And so are you, Tim," she added. "Keep the countdown coming."

"About that, Saturn Girl... there seems to be a short lag in the timing," came Time-Teller Lad's hesitant reply. "I thought at first it was the interference, or my injuries, but... I could have sworn there's a significant delay not being accounted for. At least thirty seconds' worth, maybe as much as a minute."

Saturn Girl's brow furrowed. They couldn't afford even a bit of delay in communications.
"Thanks for telling me, Tim. I'll get someone on it."

*************************************************

13:13 minutes left to calibrate

"Glad to have you back here, Sonnie," IB Purple said as he watched Sonnie work on the bomb. "It's been such a long time."

Sonnie Bloke smiled. "I know. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed this. You know, putting our lives in danger and all that."

"The adrenaline rush is great, isn't it?" IB grinned. "I wish more of us would stay on the active roster... I haven't seen a lot of you in a while."

"Well... sad to say, but for some of us there does come a time when we need to take a break for a while. Pursue other interests, for the moment. The life of an LMBer can be very fulfilling, but it can be tiring at times..."

"Yeah... Maybe after this Blaze and I will take a break for a bit too. So what's been keeping you busy, Sonnie?"

"Remember when Numf and I went to hell on a pushbike? I've put all that cycling to use. I'm now an aerobics instructor. I have a video coming out soon. I'll even give you a copy!"

IB Purple smiled politely as he tried to imagine Sonnie in leotards in front of a room full of sentients doing synchronized exercises. The images filled his head. "That... that would be great, Sonnie."

Weber's World

Phase III - The Operation

13:08 minutes left to calibrate

"That's it, keep the Nth metal up nice and thick," IB Yellow said as Kinetix telekinetically formed a bubble around them. "This makes a good secondary defensive layer to my light shield."

"You're really good at moving things around, aren't you, Zoe?" Angdar said with a wink.

"You'd know, wouldn't you... Especially with how she's enhanced your Nth metal physiology..." IB Yellow mumbled.

"I know you find me very moving too, Angdar," Kinetix said with a smile and a wink. IB Yellow could have sworn her wink was aimed in HIS direction, though, and not Angdar's.

Sigh. Women. IB decided to avert his gaze and instead studied their bubble intently.

"Say, something doesn't seem right. Are those... cracks in the Nth metal?"

"Impossible," Kinetix breathed. "The only things touching the metal are my field and the Dream-Eater..."

Angdar turned away from the bomb to look. "But IB's right. Those ARE cracks."

IB Yellow used his light powers to magnify what they were seeing. "Odd, they are, alright."

The three looked at each other, troubled. "I think I'm going to have to work faster," Angdar said.

"And I'll keep the metallic bubble as thick as I can," Kinetix added.

"While I try to get through to Reboot..." IB Yellow said as he thought as hard as he could.

*************************************************

12:55 minutes left to calibrate

Reboot cursed as he checked his findings, spurred by reports from IBs Red and Yellow.

"Saturn Girl. Our test results came back. The tiny portion of Dream-Eater that we recovered earlier? We placed some iron ball bearings in it to see what would happen. The ball bearings just emerged after 8.5 hours, and it's not good."

"Should we be worried? Your previous estimate was the bombs could remain shrunk for 30 minutes."

"That was the shrinking. Factoring in the possible decay caused by the blob... Damn! We knew there were remains of starships in the blob at the Brood homeworld, but we assumed the damage was caused in the invasion...! We should have tested before doing this!"

"Easy, Reboot, easy. We can handle this. How much time?"

"40 minutes total. For everything, up to and including detonation."

"Oh grife. Tim says we only have more than 12 minutes of the original 30 left."

"Then we'd better work fast."

Weber's World

Phase III - The Operation

22:41 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

Vee paused as he was about to grow the bomb that Poverty Lad and Rouge had planted. "I... I can't get a sense of where the bomb is."

"What? But shouldn't Saturn Girl be telepathing the location right to you?" asked Blaze incredulously.

Xben and the Earth-4 Outdoor Miner looked at each other. "We can't get a fix on the teleport either. We're supposed to be getting Space Ranger and IB Red out of there."

IB Green closed his eyes. "Maybe I can point you to them..." He opened them, and there was fear in his eyes. "I can't sense them."

Everyone looked around uncomfortably. "Maybe one of us should check the ship out..."

"This message was sent at UP standard time 15:35:45," came Time-Teller Lad's telepathic voice. "There seems to be a short lag in our telepathic network. Please stay where you are, we're working on the cause. I will send you some coordinates in 3 microseconds."

"Well, that settles that then," IB Green said, though Blaze noted he sounded a bit nervous. "We wait, and trust in them."

*************************************************

18:24 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

"So, how is there a Weber's World in your universe too, Infra? You don't mind if I call you Infra, do you?" IB Blue asked.

Infra-Red Lass hardly stopped her tinkering as she mumbled, "I think so."

IB Blue frowned. This wasn't what he expected. "Infra-Red Lass, did I do something to offend you? You've hardly said three words to me since we started, and I don't think you feel comfortable looking at me. Please, let me know if I did something."

Infra-Red Lass stopped working, and slowly turned around. IB Blue was surprised to see sorrow in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, IB. it's just that you... you and I... I mean, I and the other IB... Our IB, from Earth-4, we..."

"Oh grife," IB Blue said. "Did you and I... I mean, you and he... were you an item?"

Infra-Red Lass gaped, and then burst out laughing. "Oh, no, no! Nothing like that! We were just friends."

IB Blue laughed too. "Hey, at least I finally got you to laugh..."

Infra chuckled and moved closer, touching IB Blue's arm lightly. "Our IB did that too. No, it's just... I asked to be paired up with you here because I really missed working with him, you know? None of us ever got a chance to say goodbye before he died. And, all of us were just amazed at how confident you are, how powerful... It's like how we knew our IB would have been now if he'd.. if he'd lived."

IB Blue tried to force a smile. "I never did get to meet him, you know. I really wish I could have. I always did want to have a brother. Sometimes I get so jealous thinking of the others of us who've met their counterparts..."

"Oh honey... It's not easy for us either. Sometimes, I can't stop thinking how he must have been so scared and alone just before he died, all chained up like that... Grife, how he must have thought we failed him." She turned away and held her head in her hands. "Oh light, sometimes I think his death was much worse... It wasn't sudden at all, and he was so helpless..."

IB Blue stepped closer and touched Infra-Red Lass' arm. "Infra... if your IB was anything like me, I can guarantee that while he was scared, he wasn't defeated. He would have gained strength in the end from his friends. Like you."

Infra-Red Lass turned around, and without a word she and IB Blue embraced tightly. For just a moment, they poured their grief out to each other.

*************************************************

16:27 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE


Kid Vudoo's eyes darted frantically around the ship. There had to be something, whether mechanical device or living being, who was causing their telepathic lag. It couldn't be exhaustion.

He glanced over to where Legion Tracker stood silently. His teammate was working hard, trying to keep sensing the locations of the bomb squad and their bombs. Kid Vudoo was supposed to be helping him, but there was nobody else available who could search the ship faster.

He flew along the corridors. Come on, there had to be something weird. There had to be...

There! A blind spot to my x-ray vision!

Kid Vudoo hurried along. It was a spot on the hull, right outside the airlock. He quickly held up his ring. "Kid Vudoo to Nightcrawler. Need backup."

Nothing. Maybe this thing is jamming all other communications too? Grife. I have no idea how powerful it is.

Kid Vudoo thought for a moment, then made his decision. The telepathic network was crucial to their success. He had to do this.

He stepped up to the airlock and swallowed. Here goes nothing...

He opened the airlock. Nothing. Where was...

"Oooooooooomppppph!" he yelled as he was knocked backwards. He raised his arms to protect himself as he turned on his x-ray vision to see a large lizard-like creature with terribly long antennae and vicious-looking fangs slash at him. Trying to ignore the pain, he gave it a kick that sent it flying backwards. Now that he didn't have to protect his face anymore, he lowered his arms and let loose with his heat vision, incinerating the creature.

Breathing heavily, he telepathed Saturn Girl. "I found the cause. Can you hear me?"

There was no reply. Oh no, does that mean...

The hissing behind him made his blood run cold. There were more.

Kid Vudoo turned to run. He was no coward, but he needed to get to safety and assess their numbers.

"Ugh!" he yelled as something sharp cut into his back. He fell to the floor and clutched it. He struggled to turn around. He wouldn't go down without a fight...

Clang! he felt something whoosh over him, and saw a lizard fly through the air. Kid Vudoo stared open-mouthed as he saw a figure holding a frying pan, who was screaming, "HEY! CALM YO TITS, YOU NASTY LITTLE CREATURE!"

He saw something fly through the air, and gaped again as he saw a lizard pinned to the wall by a silver cocktail fork. "Auntie Anita doesn't like your manners, you!" shouted a figure who was sipping from a cocktail glass.

In short order, the two figures had taken out the half dozen lizards that were attacking him.

"Are you okay, Vu?" asked a concerned voice. Kid Vudoo turned to see an exhausted Legion Tracker hovering above him. "When we didn't hear from you, I got scared and grabbed whomever was nearby."

"Glad you did... saved my life... did we solve the problem?"

"Yes, you did," came Saturn Girl's telepathic voice. I've already sent help.

Kid Vudoo looked to see a girl in a nurse's uniform - he recognized her as Nurse Tina - running towards him. Then blessed unconsciousness took him.

Weber's World

Phase III - The Operation

15:30 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

"How are you doing, Drake?" IB Indigo asked.

"It's a little difficult - I'm not exactly the most dexterous guy in the galaxy - but I'm managing," DrakeB3004 replied as he tinkered with the bomb. "I'll let you know if I forget any instructions."

"I'm sure you can handle it, Drake," IB Indigo replied. "And don't worry, my shield can hold for the next 15 or so minutes..."

He was interrupted by a telepathic bulletin. "IB Green to Indigo. You don't have 15 minutes. We have to regroup now!"

"What are you talking about?" IB Indigo asked.

IB Green quickly explained - Reboot had, via experimentation and the observations of other squad members, determined that the Dream-Eater's matter ate away at metals. Combined with the strain of being shrunk, that only gave the whole team an additional ten minutes from the moment of shrinking - or forty minutes in all. Ghouls had blocked their telepathic network, costing precious time.

"So," IB Green continued, "our original plan was that we and Blaze provide cover while Jerry sets the timer on a bomb. After each bomb, he timejumps us back out, and we go back in to set the next bomb. This will allow Time-Teller Lad to keep track and let us know exactly what time to set on the timer for each bomb. But that was assuming we had enough time for us to set ten bombs like that."

"But we only have about 15 minutes left... So it looks like we may have to set some of them simultaneously," IB Indigo finished.

"Then let's begin with this one," DrakeB3004 said. "At least we'll get it out of the way."

"How much time will it take you?" IB Indigo frowned.

"Not that much - and we can switch. I'll use my energy to shield us while you work. I bet you have quicker hands, anyway."

"Are you sure you can protect both of us, Drake?"

"I'll have to, IB."

*************************************************

15:20 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

"How are you doing, lass?" Rockhopper Lass asked gently. Kairos' eyes were closed and she was visibly sweating.

"I'm fine. I just need to keep renewing the quantum bubble every few minutes. This thing is huge," Kairos said through gritted teeth.

"You're very determined. I can see you are committed to keeping this monstrosity contained."

"So are we," Mattropolis inserted with a grin. "it's not that easy for us either, keeping gravity at a constant."

"In these times, we do what we must," Danny Blaine replied somberly.

"Sorry, just a little lighthearted humor..." Mattropolis muttered.

"I didn't mean anything by it," both Danny Blaine and Mattropolis said simultaneously. The two counterparts, one from Earth-1 and one from Earth-4, smiled. They weren't so different after all.

"We may not have to wait much longer," Rockhopper Lad inserted. I just heard from Saturn Girl, and the timeline of our plan hasbeen greatly accelerated."

*************************************************

14:15 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

Xben slumped down, exhausted from all the teleporting. "They're yours, Vee."

With a gesture, Vee made IB Indigo and DrakeB3004 grow.

"It's about time," IB Red said. "We have to figure out what to do with the other 9 bombs. What time did you set it for?"

"When we teleported out, we set it to blow in exactly 14:18 seconds - the amount of time Tim said we had left."

"Okay, so let's form 9 squads to go in. We need people who're either invulnerable to bomb explosions or who can get out from inside the Dream-Eater, just in case the countdown ends before we finish..."

"I don't think we have enough people who can survive that," Poverty Lad pointed out. "What if we send less and..."

"GET DOWN!" Space Ranger leaped forward, pushing Poverty Lad out of the way just as a ball of energy streaked past.

"Oh no... Those look like Olooan mind dragons," Harbinger said fearfully. "They're mean..."

"And undead!" Blacula added.

"Scatter!" yelled Icefire.

"Where? They're all around us!" Abin Quank said.

"Can you get us out of here, OM?" IB asked.

"Uh... OM and Xben are out," Vee said.

"Grife! This just keeps getting better and better... Blaze, use your flames to shield us!" Blaze nodded as a fiery halo sprang up around him.

"I can timeslip myself out, but I can't bring all of you with me!" Jerry said.

"Wait... Vee, shrink us all except Jerry, now! Jerry, 10 minutes..." That was the last thing IB said before the dragon's attack hit them.

Weber's World

Phase III - The Operation

4:15 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

"...in the future," IB Green said as the group reappeared. He looked around. "Oh. Nice one, Jerry. You sure shrink fast, Vee."

"Practice," Vee shrugged.

"Don't grow yet," Jerry said telepathically. "Let me get somewhere safe."

"While you're doing that, let's decide on the bomb. The only way I see us doing this is for the 9 bombs to go off simultaneously. I can do 7, but..."

Blaze cut IB off. "Oh no, you're not going in alone!"

"No choice. We're wasting time. Let's go with a modification of the original plan. You, Jerry, and the seven mes each take one bomb. When we're done, we regroup at Jerry's bomb. Then Jerry timelips us out of there. I COULD fly us out but no guarantees we'll get far away fast enough. The rest of you get in the ship and GO, and get everyone else out of here!"

IB looked around at the assembled group, who all nodded in agreement. Jerry signalled his assent telepathically, then added, "All's clear for you to grow. And time for me to shrink, I presume?"

"Right. Now let's go, everyone. And good luck, we'll need it."

*************************************************

4:00 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

IB Indigo materialized in front of his targetted bomb, and began growing as soon as he did. Before he took a step, he was back to normal height. "Thanks, Xben, Vee," he telepathed before heading to his bomb. "Okay, okay kid, you can do this. You've practiced so many times..."

He fumbled with the bomb, then closed his eyes and breathed so he could remember how to set the timer. Opening his eyes, he took a deep breath and began pushing buttons.

*************************************************

3:50 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

I knew I should have paid more attention... IB Yellow thought to himself. Marvin had shown him a shortcut a while ago, but it was terribly complicated and he'd blanked out.

Now he was hurriedly pushing buttons and attaching wires. Arts and crafts had never been his strong thing, and he really hated work which involved precise dexterity.

"Yeow!" he screamed as he felt a cold inky tendril brush against him. He quickly chased it away with a bright light. Damn, can't get distracted!

Surrounding himself in a bright glow, he refocused his attention on the bomb.

*************************************************

3:30 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

"Understood," Kar-Em replied to the telepathic message. Turning to his squad, he gave the signal to withdraw.

"Look out!" warned Saffron Kid. "The dragons have seen us!"

"Careful, Super Dense Kid," Karate Kid said as he tackled the former. "Not even you are impervious to dragonfire."

"Keep moving!" Kar-Em commanded as he used his laser vision on the dragons. "Kid Catalyst, Magnetic Kid, back me up. Atypical Lass, lead the rest in. We can't afford to still be here in three minutes!"

*************************************************

3:10 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

"I'm almost done with my bomb," IB Orange thought to Time-Teller Lad. "Keep the clock ticking, Tim. I need you to tell me at what time to set the timer."

"Sure... I'm pumped full of stimulants. No way I'll fall asleep before this is over."

"Thanks, Tim. You're a big hero."

*************************************************

2:15 minutes left to <e>calibrate[/s] DETONATE

"Gravity's set. We can leave now," Mattropolis said.

"Same for the ice prison," Rockhopper Lass added.

"Alright then, let us head back to the ship," Rockhopper Lad said. "Outdoor Miner, you may..."

"Wait," Kairos cut in. "I'm staying until the last minute. This thing is pushing back against my stasis field. I have to stay to maintain it."

"You'll do no such thing," Rockhopper Lass said. "I'm not about to let you sacrifice yourself needlessly!"

"I'm sorry, but I know we have to keep this thing contained. If even one speck gets out, it might contaminate everyone we have!"

"Even so..." Rockhopper Lass began.

Rockhopper Lad placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Wait. Stopping this thing IS worth all our lives and more, but..." He turned to Kairos. "The ship is set to jump 30 seconds before detonation. Can your stasis bubble hold up for 30 seconds without you actively maintaining it?"

Kairos thought for a moment. "I think that should be a safe time estimate."

Rockhopper Lad telepathed Outdoor Miner. "The distance from our location to the ship is about 700 meters. Can you reach that?"

Outdoor Miner sighed. "It will be a strain, but if you simply MUST be picked up there instead of flying through space like anyone else, I can do that."

"Thank you, Outdoor Miner. Kairos, carry on."

*************************************************

01:43 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

IB Purple's hands trembled as he connected the timer. He knew he had to focus, but he couldn't help worrying. He'd almost lost Blaze earlier, and he still couldn't imagine bearing that pain again.

"Blaze, how are you?" he telepathed out. "Please, please answer..."

*************************************************

01:35 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

Blaze was exhausted. He had to maintain his flame at solar intensity just to keep the Dream-Eater at bay, and he had to work on the bomb at the same time! He was just glad he paid attention during Marvin's demonstration.

"Blaze, are you okay?" came a telepathic message. Blaze replied, "Hon, I think all your selves have asked me that. I'm doing fine. Don't worry, I won't let you all down. Come and pick me up soon, okay?"

*************************************************

01:03 minutes left to calibrate</e> DETONATE

"Is everyone in our squad in here?" Harbinger asked as she looked around.

"Affirmative," Infra-Red Lass said. "Just took a headcount."

The remaining heroes were huddled together under a power ring bubble, courtesy of Abin Quank, and reinforced by the powers of several others. A groggy Outdoor Miner was recovering. Xben had teleported them all near the ship before Vee grew them. They would make the final approach the hard way.

Poverty Lad led the charge. "Okay then, let's go! And nobody's gonna die or get left behind now, okay? These aren't the holos, so no dramatic last minute stuff!"

*************************************************

00:38 minutes left to [s]calibrate DETONATE

"Time to merge yet?!" IB Red practically yelled into the telepathic link. "My bomb is set!"

"Almost," replied IB Green. "Just finishing touches... I think my bomb is worse off than the rest of yours. Fix on my location, we'll meet here!"

"Always the bossy one..." IB Red muttered. He didn't send it over the telepathic network; he knew himself enough to see that he was just blowing off steam.

After all, he was nervous as hell.

*************************************************

00:25 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

A glowing green disc appeared in the middle of the lead ship's command deck as Outdoor Miner teleported in with Rockhopper Lad's group. Rocky thanked him and moved forward. "Atypical Lass, are we all here?"

"We are. Kar-Em just boarded as well."

"Thank you. Then we must depart now. Rokksteady, Super Lad Kid, please prepare to jump."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Rokksteady grinned as he flipped some switches. "Let's go... WHOA!"

Everyone yelled as the ship lurched. "It's our engines!" Mowgli yelled over the communication links. "Some giant squid is tangling them up!"

Rockhopper Lad closed his eyes. "Why must things never be easy for us?"

*************************************************

00:14 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

Jerry slumped back as he finished setting the timer on his bomb. He'd set it for 14 seconds, which was the time they had left. He looked down at his hands. They were still glowing, courtesy of the light shield IB had placed on him before it all started.

He looked around. Still no sign of IB or Blaze. Damn. I can timeslip myself any time, but I have to wait for them. I can't leave them here!

"IB? Blaze? You boys okay?"

Blaze's reply was muffled, but still telepathically audible. "I'm done, and I think the IBs are too. IB said they'd be recombining soon. And he knows where you are."

*************************************************

00:10 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

Kar-Em's eyes blazed red as he finished tearing the zombie squid apart. "Okay, ship should be clear! We jump, now!"

"Ten seconds left," came Time-Teller Lad's thought.

"Hah!" Super Lad Kid laughed as he kept flipping switches. "We can get this thing from initiation to jump in 30 seconds. We've already started prepping, we can make it."

"Grife, I hope so," muttered Bicycle Repair Man. "Getting blown up by our own bombs is SO not the way I want to die."

*************************************************

00:07 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

Seven colored streaks of light merged to form Invisible Brainiac. Whole again, he fell to his knees inside his light bubble. Damn, getting through this thing was tough. It's fighting back. Gotta hurry. I can't let them down.

He quickly lasered himself through the Dream-Eater, yelled as he struggled to find Blaze.

*************************************************

00:04 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

"IB! You're okay!" Blaze breathed in relief, partly because he now knew for sure IB was alive, and partly because his fiery powers were at their limit keeping the Dream-Eater at bay.

"Glad to see you too," IB grinned as he reached out and touched Blaze's arm. "No time to kiss now though, we have to find Jerry!"

The two vanished into the inky darkness.

*************************************************

00:03 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

"And we are GO!" Super Lad Kid yelled as the ship lurched forward.

"Engines all okay," Mowgli said.

"Take us away, Rokksteady," Rockhopper Lad said. "And may Jerry, IB and Blaze join us soon."

*************************************************

00:02 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

"IB, two seconds to go!"

This was Time-Teller Lad's last thought, and the final transmission from the telepathic network, before the lead ship faded into the bright light of hyperspace.

*************************************************

00:01 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

"IB! Blaze! Where are you?!" Jerry thought desperately as he watched the timer on the bomb. "We're out of time!"

I can't leave... what if they show up a split-second after I do? But grife, can any of my forms withstand this blast if it comes to it?

Jerry quickly selected the form with the toughest hide he could find. Maybe it would give him an advantage...

"You know, if I didn't know you were a Durlan I would have thought you'd ditched us!"

Jerry looked up to see IB and Blaze piercing through the Dream-Eater. "About time! Get over here!"

IB reached out his hand, and Jerry did too. Blaze couldn't help but fix his eyes on the timer. There was no more time.

The world seemed to freeze as the timer on the bomb hit zero.

*************************************************

00:00 minutes left to calibrate DETONATE

Countdown over

As the stasis bubble around it dissipated, the Dream-Eater began to stretch, feeling for any organisms in its path. All it felt right now was an immense hunger which had to be satisfied. Alas, all the beings in its immediate vicinity were already undead.

And then, it went up in a dazzling explosion that lit space around. The bright light was seen as far away as Weber's World.

If the Dream-Eater could feel, it would know the same oblivion that it gave its victims.

And the universe was the better for it.

Weber's World

Phase IV - The Defense

30 minutes after detonation

"...and thankfully, nobody was injured in our escape. Besides a healing Kid Vudoo and an exhausted Time-Teller Lad, everybody else has only minor injuries and will be battle-ready in a few hours."

"Thank you, Kent," Rockhopper Lad said. "Saturn Girl, have IB, Jerry and Blaze reappeared?"

"Can't get a fix yet. Don't worry, though, I'm sure they're okay. Jerry would have timeslipped them far enough into the future to escape the worst of the blast. Maybe they just haven't reappeared yet."

"Hey, miss us? Did we miss anything?"

Everyone turned as a bright ray of light solidified in the ship's command room. As it faded, a grinning but thoroughly exhausted Blaze, Jerry and Invisible Brainiac alit to cheers from their comrades.

"Talk about last minute! We reached Jerry with about a second left to spare," IB shouted exuberantly. "Man, what an adrenaline rush!"

He wrapped his arms around Blaze's and Jerry's shoulders, drawing them close. "We should so do that again. We three make a great team!"

Jerry laughed as he ruffled IB's hair. "I'm good to go roaring through space like that again, only without the escape from certain death part!"

"I feel great, though. Now I have a better idea of just how powerful my flames are," Blaze smiled. "Being able to survive both the Dream-Eater and help shield us from the vacuum of space was awesome."

"And so are you," IB said as they shared a quick kiss. Then IB turned to Rocky. "Shall we proceed with the next phase, fearless leader? I assume all the ghouls and zombies in the immediate area were destroyed in the explosion as well."

"You are correct. And our allies report that all the ghouls in Weber's World and Space Quadrants A to D have cleared out. The only forces left are on the Outer Fringes, a few light years from Weber's World."

"They'll be here soon, though, if we guessed that they were holding back only so the Dream-Eater could turn us to the Dark Army, right?" asked Jerry.

"Right. But we've already planned for that too. I'll start gathering everyone involved," IB replied. "But first... you think maybe we can toast to our success?"

Rockhopper Lad smiled. "I suppose we can spare a few minutes for some champagne."

A few minutes later, the corks were being opened throughout the ship.

*************************************************

Above Weber's World

Even though she wore a transuit, Reflekto shuddered. She didn't know if it was because of the enormity of their task, or because of the reputations of the heroes who were with her.

She was jolted out of her reverie when Invisible Brainiac placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You ready for your first official LMB mission?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, though I'm not quite sure if I can do what you need me to do."

"Reboot and the others have assessed all our power levels. I'm sure you can do it," IB smiled. "And how are you doing, Nam'lor?"

"NAM'LOR JUST REMEMBER! ME NEVER FIND POWER BOY'S DOGGIE!" wailed the large hero as he loomed over IB.

"Uh... Power Boy told me his wolf-dog could find him. Maybe it went off to find Power Boy?" IB said.

"IS DOGGIE THAT SMART? WOW, MAYBE I ASK HIM TO FIND MY MISSING SOCKS! ALWAYS GO MISSING AFTER LAUNDRY!"

"Well, it looks like you're back in good fighting form," IB grinned. "Have you two met the others?"

In short order, IB introduced them to Blaze, Kalla Krykos, Kairos, Rockhopper Lad, Abin Quank and Lev Lad. Clapping Lev Lad on the shoulder, IB said, "This here's one of the originals of the LMB. Like Shadowplay in Candlelight and many others, he's come back out of retirement to help us out."

As Lev Lad grinned and gave them all a thumbs-up, IB added, "And this here is Dial H for Homo. His magical H-dial is a vital component of his strategy." The hero in question smiled shyly as he clung to IB's bicep, oblivious to Blaze's now fiery hair and his heated glare.

"Finally, we have Myriad, who can inhabit any of over a dozen bodies, although one at a time, and Tromium, whose crystals will also be a major part of our plan," IB added.

As the group filed into their cruiser, Reflekto couldn't help but shiver even more. LMBers long retired and absent had come back just for this!

This was immense, and she had joined the LMB just in time for this.

She couldn't wait to tell all her friends.

Weber's World

Phase IV - The Defense

The Defense of Weber's World had drawn nearly all the active members of the LMB, as well as countless allies, to protect the seat of government of the United Planets.

A very important contingent of that effort were the reservists and retirees of the LMB. Many of them had not been seen in years, but the enormity of this battle had brought them back to fight the good fight once more.

This team hovered quite some distance away from Weber's World, acting as a buffer between the waiting Dark Army.

"Okay guys," Mystery Lad said as he addressed his squad. "Let's show them that we still have it! While the others are recuperating, let's keep our defense nice and tight!"

"Defense... my favorite strategy," commented Hardshell the Turtle Boy.

"What's our objective?" asked Kid Therod.

"From what I heard," said the Earth-1 Seahorse, "IB's team will set up a semi-permanent, stronger defense around Weber's World. We just have to keep the Dark Army off their backs until that happens."

"While waiting, let's stare at the stars a bit," Kbern Kid whispered to his partner, the now-cured Gonorrhea Gary. "It's so romantic up here."

"Uh, sorry to spoil the moment," said Mondo Joe X, "but we'd better save that for later. Look!"

"Uh oh. Time to wade in, pals!" Igee the Mighty yelled as a wave of ghouls began pouring towards them.

"Don't be scared, Blok the pet rock," cooed Stately Wayne Manor Eater Lad as he caressed the LMB's pet. "We won't let anything bad happen to you."

"Okay, you know your assignments," Seahorse said with authority. "Mightyfanboy Lad, Midnight Son, Kid Psychout, Ultrajo, Tao Damsel, JWB Boy, Rune-El, Ger, Thanagarian, Shadow Fox, Ding Boy to the west. Duplicate Man, Wonder Boy, Oraknabo, Bubble Wrap Boy, Senor Widebottom, Caleb, Captain Dallas, Probability Pete, Lad Boy, to the east!"

"And the three Triads, Grendel, Polar Boy, Galadhran, Lost in Lust Lad, Language Arts Lad, kenaustin, Flannel Lass, Continuity Cop, Star Boy and Sk8 Maven Damsel, watch our backs and make sure our escape route isn't cut off!" added Mystery Lad.

The ever-silent Lurker Lad nodded as he motioned for his team to follow him.

Ample Man waved cheerfully to his teammates as they flew off. "By the riches of Engine Joe and the good looks of Looks that Kill Lad, it's great to be back in action!"

************************************************

Invisible Brainiac's squad flew out of the cruiser. Lev Lad flew out last. "Auto-pilot's set, guys. But as IB requested, we need as much stability as we can get, so..." Lev Lad suddenly began to grow and grow, until the cruiser fit snugly into the palm of his hand.

"Thanks, Lev Lad. Okay, everyone else know your parts in the plan?" IB asked. Everyone around him nodded.

"Good. Remember, we've thoroughly tested this, but there is a chance that we missed something - so if any of you has any qualms about this, now is the time to back out."

IB's stare rested on Reklekto as he said this. After all, she'd be the one in the most danger. Swallowing, she said, "Let's do this."

"You go girl," Kairos said encouragingly. Reflekto have her a smile in gratitude.

"I'm ready to roll!" Dial H for Homo said as dialled. In a flash, he transformed into a hero wearing only a stylish black-and-white pair of shorts. It looked strangely like Invisible Brainiac's own costume. "Ooooh, we make a matched pair!" he said as his eyes glowed. "I even have my own necklace," he added, as he fingered both his necklace and IB's own prism. IB politely leaned back a little.

"As am I," said Myriad. She had switched into one of her bodies that controlled light energy.

"Although I am loathe to access my magical powers, I understand this is for the greater good," added Rockhopper Lad.

"No worries, Rocky," said Floating Foxlike Creature. "I'll be doing the active magical channeling. I'll just need to tap into your energies, since mine are inadequate. Now close your eyes..." As he did, Floating Foxlike Creature begun funneling magical energy from both Rocky and the Homo-Dial.

"How can you do that?" asked Blaze incredulously.

"Don't you know, I can do ANYTHING!" Floating Foxlike Creature said proudly.

"Anything with the help of the magic channeler in your costume, courtesy of Reboot's team," IB said. "Lucky for us Reboot dug out an old project he'd been working on with Pagan Lass."

"Hey, so I was the first volunteer for their little experiment," Floating Foxlike Creature replied.

IB paid him no heed, as turned to Nam'lor. "Nam'lor, it seems that you're powered by the extremely powerful energo. Before we discovered you had it, we never could have imagined the feat we're about to do. It seems you can't actually focus that energo, but Floating Foxlike Creature should be able to draw some of it from you."

"Draw? OOH! OOOH! ME WANT MAKE PRETTY ARTWORK! Anyone have paintbrush? Me draw picture of Drinking Buddies, since us am never have holo before we split up!"

"I'll get you a paint set later," IB said. "That would make a nice memorial to the others. Now Tromium, if you could please create the biggest set of crystals that you can. Remember that it'll serve as a focus for our light energies."

Nodding, Tromium began to craft a crystal spire. "I'll need a minute, I have to make sure the crystal is structured properly to focus your energies."

"Thank you. Now Reflekto... none of us are quite sure what the limits of your powers are, but this gadget Reboot gave us should help boost them. It might be tiring, but I've tested it and you should feel no pain. Try not to be frightened of the heat and light, okay?"

Reflekto nodded nervously.

"Alright... if we're ready?" IB looked around as they all stood on the cruiser. Everyone nodded their readiness, hands glowing as they warmed up their powers.

"Guess we are. Okay...FIRE!"

*************************************************

"Keep it up, everyone," roared Stupendous Mountain Lion. "IB's squad has begun. It won't be long now!"

"Urgh. I'd feel better if we were all as tough as Gamara over there," Sarcasm Kid yelled as he dodged a blast. "He's really ripping up the opposition!"

"If you're so worried, I know some good life insurance plans that'll give your heirs plenty of security," Policy Pam smiled as she blasted the ghoul attacking Sarcasm Kid.

"Keep your focus, you two," Stupendous Mountain Lion roared as he swiped at a skeleton. "Gamara might be our heaviest hitter right now," he added as Gamara's tail punched through a Dark Army ship, "but even the least of us can contribute. Look at Jinx!"

"MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOW!" came Jinx's furious cry as she tore at the face of a werewolf. The hapless thing could only roar as her claws dug deeper.

"Look at her go," Chips Ahoy Boy said approvingly. "Queen Connie couldn't have done better. But let's show them what we old-timers have. You ready, Cookie Monstress?"

"You got my motivation?" the jovial Cookie Monstress asked.

"Right here," Chips Ahoy Boy grinned as he fished into his pocket. With a smooth motion, he threw a handful of cookies at the monsters charging their way. Each cookie attached itself to one of them. They looked down curiously, and laughed at the feeble attack.

"COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!" roared Cookie Monstress as she flew into the oncoming monsters. "GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME!!"

"Ohh, they are so gonna get it," Sarcasm Kid smiled.

*************************************************

"Can I get some help here?!" shouted Kid Gender Stereotype Reversal II as she dodged more attacks. "I don't think these ghouls have any gender for me to affect!"

"Here, Kid, catch!" came a voice from above her.

The Kid turned to see a doll floating past her. "What the heck am I going to do with this?!" she asked.

"Yank the braid and you'll see," said the jolly voice. "But first, put your earplugs on!"

She did, and was stunned as the monsters all doubled over. "Whoa. Does this thing emit pain rays or something?" she asked as the new arrival settled beside her.

"Oh no, nothing like that," smiled the old man. "Look closely. They're laughing, courtesy of these dolls. You should thank Gigglebot Girl; she allowed me to record her voice for this."

"I'll send her a note later. Right now, I think I should thank you, Mr...?" The Kid asked as she held out her hand.

The old man laughed cheerily as he held out his own hand. "I have many names, but you may call me Santa Claus."

*************************************************

Invisible Brainiac, Kalla Hrykos, Abin Quank, Myriad and Dial H for Homo began pouring their energies as one into the crystal that Tromium had created. The resulting beam was so intense that it seemed to dwarf the lights of the starts themselves.

"Looks like I calculated it right," Tromium said with satisfaction as the light beam reflected towards Floating Foxlike Creature, who "caught" it in his magical field.

"Yeow!" shouted Dial H. "We are hot, hot, hot!"

"You want hot?" muttered Blaze. "I'll give you hot!"

"That's it, Blaze! Pour your flame up! You too, Kairos! Pour your energies at Floating Foxlike Creature!"

The two complied, as Floating Foxlike Creature collected the flames and stasis bubbles.

"Can you handle it, FFC?"

"Piece of cake!" FFC grinned, though IB could swear he was panting. "And now, for the energo!"

With a wave of its paw, FFC began to siphon off some of Nam'lor's energo.

"IT TICKLES!" laughed Nam'lor as his aura slowly receded.

"Okay, now that we're drawing on all the energy... Reflekto, are you ready?"

Stella Ah closed her eyes. It was her chance to be a hero, and she wouldn't fail. "Yes! Yes, let me have it!"

Floating Foxlike Creature grinned as he gathered the energies about him, and focused it into a large blast. "Okay, I'm letting it rip!"

The powerful beam of mixed energy shot at Stella Ah's personal forcefield. The clash of energies lit up the sky. "Urgh!" Stella screamed as she could feel the blunt force hitting at her field. She felt no pain, only a pounding pressure.

"Okay, let us add our wills to yours," IB said. "Think of your field expanding. Think of it growing... slowly... slowly..."

Stella closed her eyes and imagined. She could feel her field... expanding! She opened her eyes in wonder, and saw all the others standing in amazement as well. Her field was growing! It had expanded outwards.

"Well done, team," Rockhopper Lad smiled. "Saturn Girl, please ask our comrades to return to Weber's World now. We should go as well."

"Oh, but can we stay some more?" Myriad breathed. "It's so beautiful."

And indeed it was. Reflekto's force field was growing slowly, and it sparkled in the sky like a rainbow bubble. And so they all watched as it enclosed Weber's World, and began to move slowly outwards. All the defenders rushed into the space enclosed by it, leaving the Dark Army forces trapped outside. Oh, some Dark Army elements had snuck inside the shield, but their numbers were manageable.

"They're not going to get through that, are they?" Blaze asked.

IB smiled. "With the combination of all our energies? This is way stronger than the light shield I made previously. Now, I don't think anything short of a massive magical attack or a planet-sized hammer is going to break through that. Nothing should be able to teleport through it either, and since it's made of more than just light, no invisible or intangible enemies can penetrate."

"In short, the Dark Army is trapped outside," smiled Rockhopper Lad. "And we are trapped - but safe - inside, while we either wait for reinforcements or figure out our next move."

The group fell silent. They were safe for now, at least. They would enjoy the sight for a while before worrying.

The streets of Weber's World

The members of the LMB and their allies were descending to Weber’s Word.

Kar Em looked around as he landed. He spotted a random ghoul terrorizing a couple of security personnel. They were trapped in an alley, and the ghoul was toying with them. It had killed the third of their group. Kar’s eyes narrowed.

“HEY!” Kar Em yelled.

The ghoul turned and hissed. It dropped the body of the security team and roared at Kar Em.

Kar Em looked up at the creature. It was big, but that did not matter to Kar Em. He stood his ground as the creature charged towards him.

- - - - - - - - - -

Timberwolf and Kalla Hykros landed down the street from where Kar Em had landed.

“Go talk to him Lon.”

“There’s nothing that....”

He was interrupted by Kar Em screaming at the creature. Lon turned towards his fatheer and saw the creature charging him.

Lon began to move. Faster than even Kalla had thought was possible; he cut the distance in half and then stopped.

Kalla caught up to him and opened her mouth to ask why he had stopped when she noticed it as well. Kar Em was shaking. It was subtle, but there were vibrations coming off of him that she could see, and she realized Lon could actually feel them.

“Look, in front of his eyes,” Lon said in a low voice.

“What is that…?”

Before Lon could answer, a blast of heat vision that neither of them had ever seen, let alone thought one being alone could produce.

The creature was simply no more. Kar Em had incinerated it completely, along with part of the street and the corners of two buildings.

Lon bolted to his fathers side as the man collapsed.

“Dad?”

Kar Em looked at Lon, and with tears in his eyes said, “we need to talk about your brother…”

Kalla felt her stomach sink as Kar Em began telling them what had happened.

Deep within the bowels of Weber’s World


A long line of people walked into a glowing portal the size of two doors. The portal glowed a light blue and people walked through the line two by two. They only carried a couple bags each that were clearly thrown together at the last minute. A handful of Science Police stood around managing the exodus.

The emergency lighting dimly lit the walls of the artificial world.

Circe thought to herself ‘Finally, they found some teleporters on this planet. Damn Politicians don’t know how many people it takes to keep Weber’s World running.’ She held her rifle at the ready while cooks, shop owners, service professionals, administrators, engineers, and their families walked through the portal slowly. The politicians of Weber’s World had mostly fled on private space yachts before the siege began … or the noble few … stayed to manage the planet while under attack. Of course the upper echelon of politicians had been ordered to leave in order to preserve the integrity of the United Planets leadership.

Those unfortunate enough not to have a private space yacht had precious few escape options, until these two kids were found. What looked to be two 13 or 14 year olds stood holding hands. The hands and eyes glowed blue just like the portal.

“You there, who are these kids.” Circe commanded to a junior Science Police officer.

“Ma’am, they were the kids of a delegate from the Maltusian sector.”

“Were?” Circe asked, long blonde hair flipping as she turned her head. ‘I have to cut this hair Circe thought.’

“UH, Yeah, were, Their parents died a few hours ago, killed by enemies that got past the shield.”

“… and now they’re powering a stargate for people to escape Weber’s World? Tough kids.” Circe said half to herself.

“Yep, they’re a wonder.”



………………………………………………………………………..

“AHHHHHHH” One of the twins fell to the ground. The boy twin was on his knees still holding his sisters hand while she still stood. Sweat ran down his face and he looked as if he might be sick.

The portal shrunk to half its size. Passengers jumped back as the portal shrunk. Small surprised cries were let out as people were shocked by the sudden change.

Science Police waved people through, “HURRY!!! HURRY! QUICKLY!!!” They shouted, realizing the portal may disappear altogether at any moment.

Circe quickly strode over and grabbed the male half of the teleporting twins under the arm to life him up. “What’s happened.” She asked.

A space-monkey jumped out of the shadows growling protectively. “RAWRRRR!!!”

Circe took a step back, giving the twins space.

The young boy with jet-black hair and pointed ears replied … “ I can’t keep up. My sister is the teleporter, not me.” He breathed heavily. “I’m super fast … together we can do all sorts of things we can’t do alone” “huff huff” he gasped. “… like, use our powers on others … teleport others through portals but, we combine our brain power to calculate the movement of the universe … in order to get people on the surface of a planet instead of hundreds of feet above the surface, stuff like that.”

The boy sat on his knees, still holding his sister’s hand who laboured on in silence, he gave her his power but his brain was too exhausted to contribute to the wormhole calculations. She was silent, she did the calculations for both of them in her head.

“How long can she keep this up boy?” Circe asked gruffly.

“Not long, she shouldn’t be able to do this, we never tried.” And then he spared a dirty look for Circe. “Look lady … Providing my sister energy is about as taxing as lending her brain power … so piss off.”He blurted out in strained quick words.

Circe looked taken aback and nodded to the boy.

Then she had an idea, and fired off her gun in three quick POP! POP!! POP!!!

“MOVE IT PEOPLE! GET THROUGH THAT TUNNEL BEFORE YOU’RE DARK OVAL DESERT!”

Startled refugees moved quickly and all but ran single file through the small teleportation door … to another world … to safety.

Deep Within the Bowels of Weber’s World

Eyes looked out from a shadowed face at the fleeing civilians. He looked at the armed guards watching over them as they left. They seemed familiar. “S.P.s.”

He was really hungry.



………………………………………………

Circe waved more and more people through the teleportation portal. It was only a matter of time before the girl gave out and dropped the portal. “Grife”. It was hot and crowded as ever more civilians crowded in to clearing deep below the techno planet Weber’s World.

Circe didn’t have long to stand and worry over their plight.

KASHOOOM !!!!

The walls and roof shook as a huge crash sounded from down the hall.

“Holy Nass” Circe ground her teeth. She was young to the Science Police but she knew when the sprock was about to hit the fan.

Crowds of civilians all around cried out and some fell to their knees.

Circe waved the other Science Police officers up with her, and she took point. She sure would like to have that half Daxamite officer right now.

Several tense moments passed as she stepped further down the tube towards the sound. They would have to buy time for as many civilians as possible to get through the portal to safety. Funny, she never thought of herself as particularly heroic.

The further she crept down the tube the darker it got.

Until finally …

“HIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS”



crunch! The S.P. next to Circe was gone, just gone. She spun in the darkness.

“Grife, How’d the monster get this far deep.” She back peddled. "Where the nass are the LMB!!!"

“HAHHHAHAAAAAAAA” She heard a scream from another S.P. as it was dragged into the shadows.

BAM, BAM, BAM

Circe fired her rifle into the shadows.

“squeeee!” She heard the creature cry out and then … its tail was coming at her.

WHOOMP! She fell across the hallway, something was on top of her. She struggled and got a look of it in the light ….



Circe couldn’t scream. She was too scared. A different monster now held her down on the ground. Her S.P.s were dead.


“shhhhhhhhhhhhh” The shadow faced creature said. “its close.”

The first creature slithered by, looking for them in the dark and the dank.

“together yeah” the shadow fanged boy said. Now that she got a closer look, even in the dim light she saw, it was just a boy, with fangs, on top of her.

Circe nodded her agreement. A silent “yeah” and she readied her rifle even on the floor.

whiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the shadow faced fanged boy moved faster than she could follow … and landed on top of the predator. He viciously held it by the throat and sank his fangs deep within its throat.

Circe was caught off guard by the ferocity of the attack but she knew when to fire if she knew anything.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! she fired hotly and fast, sinking as many blasts as she could into the monster … until it dropped, fanged boy on top of it.

He looked even more grotesque now, dripping monster blood, standing over the carcase of a Dark Oval monster.

As the heat of the moment passed, she did recognize him. Hell. He was wearing the remains of an S.P. uniform.

Well, she said she’d like to have that half-Daxamite kid around … now she got him, and he saved her life but … something horrible had happened to him.

As she looked at the scene before her, two dead S.P.s and a rotting Oval monster, she thought ‘something horrible has happened to all of us.’

She reached out her hand and the shadow-faced boy ran to her, clutching it to his chest.

Weber's World Security Office

Gear had been on the ground for a few hours before he finally made his way to the main security station on Weber’s World.

The guard at the desk looked up as Gear entered the building. “I’m sorry sir, there are no visitors to this installation at any time…and even more so right now, all things considered.”

Gear thought of several ways to render the guard unconscious before another word was said, but decided on a different approach.

“The man you have in custody here. The one from the other reality...he’s my father, and I can insure you that it is not my intention to pay him a miss you visit.”

“If that is indeed true, it changes nothing. Nobody can see him.”

Gear had been scanning the facility and had located his father, the other reality Dev Em. He ran some scans from his current position and smiled.

“That’s alright. I just ran a complete brain scan on him and can guarantee you that he is indeed brain dead. There is no activity at all.”

“We know that sir, we have been monitoring him for some time now, and have the records from since his capture in the Dark Oval.”

“I needed to know that though. That man has caused no end of pain in my life. He killed the best friend I ever had.”

“Apparently he killed quite a few on his way to capture as well. It was only the late…” The guard stopped short. Suddenly realizing that if this man was who he indeed said he was, that would mean that the information that had almost slipped out would possibly be devastating in its own right.

“The late who?”

“I’m sorry sir, you’re going to have to leave…”

“No. Not him,” Gear said and he put his hand on the Omnicom that was sitting on the table.

The guard snatched it away, but Gears face told that he had found the information that he needed.

“It’s not fair…I never got a chance to meet him.”

“I had. Several times in fact, when he was stationed here on Weber’s World.. He was an amazing hero.”

Gear smiled at that. “I wish I had gotten the chance to meet him. I have heard a lot about him, and he’s what I think my father could have been like…if things had gone differently.”

The guard had gotten up and was now standing next to Gear. “If it helps any, I can meet up with you after all this and tell you some things that I remember about him.”

“That…would be nice. Thank you Officer…?”

“It’s Officer Cusimano. Gigi Cusimano,” the young guard said with a slight grin.

Naltor,
Epsilon Sector

Tempest hovered about two feet above the floor of the same temple where she had remained since she sent Lard Lad and Cobalt Kid into the realm of the Dark Lord. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on keeping the frail magical lifeline between the two dimensions intact. She was told that at some point, when a great sacrifice would be required, that the connection would be of dire importance.

Every once in a while, Tempest would receive empathic information from the other side. She could feel moments of intense pain, hunger, surprise and fear from the two men she'd sent into Hell. But she could also feel their commitment and brotherhood for each other rising above it all.

And, heartbreakingly, she could feel Lardy's love and longing for her. In those moments Tempest wished she could just jump through to the other side and hold him and never let go.

She couldn't believe how much she loved this man. Anthony was terribly flawed, but no one could question his heart. He felt with every fiber of his being. There was no conflicting feelings. If he loved you, you knew it. He couldn't hide it, no matter how hard he tried. It was honest, and it was pure.

Tempest tried to suppress her feelings for him for a long time. In truth she realized she had fallen for him almost as quickly as he had for her. But she had been hurt so many times and was so new to finally being her true self that she rationalised that it simply wasn't possible.

And, she had to admit, their chemistry in the sack sure didn't hurt things at all!

Tempest was suddenly interrupted from her meditation by a familiar voice. "Care for some lunch?" the voice inquired.

Temp's eyes snapped open to see the beautiful form of the platinum blond seer Nura Nal, who had supplied her with the spell that sent Lardy and Cobie to Hell. Nura was carrying a tray full of exotic fruits and a delectable-looking salad. Temp suddenly remembered she was beyond famished. And bisexual.

"It's okay," Nura said. "You have to be engaged with the lifeline most of the time, but you can occasionally take short breaks. Besides, you've been meditating with the spell for over a week. Even with your metabolism slowed down in that state, you still need nourishment."

Temp accepted what Nura was saying, but was still reluctant to let go, even if only for a few minutes. She knew that she wouldn't be able to feel Lardy for those few minutes. What if something happened to him? Her stomach protested, though, so she reluctantly descended to the temple floor and approached the table where Nura was already seated with their repast.

Temp devoured the food. It was some of the most delicious fruits and veggies she'd ever tasted, though whether that was due to Naltorian agriculture or the intensity of her own hunger was unknown. Truthfully, she didn't really care.

After she ate beyond fulfillment, Temp suddenly realized she was really thirsty. And as if she hadn't noticed it before, she greedily eyed the pitcher of Naltorian herbal iced tea at the table's center. Eschewing table manners, she grabbed the pitcher and drank straight from it all at once until it was empty.

Nura didn't seem too put off by her guest's lack of manners. She rested her chin on her knuckles and smiled wistfully. "I take it you were a bit peckish?" Nura teased.

Temp's response was a loud BUUUURP! She grinned wickedly, then frowned. She thought of Cobalt and Lardy starving in Hell and was now feeling really guilty for her overindulgence.

Somehow knowing what Temp felt just then, Nura consoled, "it's not your fault."

"Isn't it?" Temp replied as she wiped her mouth uneasily. "I sent them there, didn't I? They're suffering while I make an absolute pig of myself!"

"They wouldn't want you to suffer, Tempest. And you are sacrificing much yourself to help them." Nura looked like she was about to add something else, but looked away.

Tempest didn't miss that. Nura's eyes told her there was more to come. She was sure of it.

Nura felt that Temp would follow up, so she changed the subject. "Time runs differently between this dimension and the Dark Lord's. While ten days have passed for us here, about forty have gone by for Lard Lad and Cobalt."

Temp didn't let go with her notion but was intrigued enough by some other answers that Nura may have that she continued with the line of thought for a moment. "I can only feel fleeting emotions from them, not read their thoughts or see their sights. Do you know what's happened to them?"

"No," Nura replied, "nothing specific. I do know that they near the point where they have an opportunity to destroy the Eye of XXXauron."

"But that's not the end of their quest, right?"

Nura shook her head. "No. If they succeed, the immortality of Priapus will be negated. But he will still live and be unbelievably powerful. They will have their work cut out for them to actually bring about his end, which would then be at least possible. That's assuming they destroy the Eye."

Temp then pressed her advantage. "The 'sacrifice' that will have to be made by Lardy and 'another'....you know what it is, don't you!" Her voice was tinged with anger. "I saw it when you told us about it before I sent them off! I saw it again a moment ago! You KNOW what it is, don't you?"

Nura averted her eyes, "n-no...I said..."

"I KNOW what you said!" Tempest railed. "I ALSO know you lied! I demand you tell me what must be sacrificed!"

Nura closed her eyes. She'd forseen this moment all along, but it didn't make it any easier for her now that it was finally here.

"Yes," Nura resolved sadly, "I will tell you."

"Look me in the eyes while you do so, then." Tempest moved over to Nura's side of the table and Nura begrudgingly locked eye contact with her. The sorrow in Nura's eyes took Temp aback. Suddenly, she wasn't sure anymore that she wanted to know. Her voice shaking, though, Temp said, "tell me, Nura...please."

And Nura told her the truth, everything she knew, never letting her eyes stray from Temp's, even as both women's eyes filled with tears.

When Nura was done, Tempest stood up suddenly and paced the temple and gesticulated, not accepting what she'd just heard. "Th-that doesn't make any SENSE! How could that possibly..."

Nura followed her and embraced her from behind. "I know, I know," she tried to soothe.

"How could you know!" Temp lashed out and threw Nura's hands off of her. "What you said, it's just so unfair! I mean, we didn't even have a chance to--!"

"Yes, it's unbelievably cruel, Tempest...Teresa. But everything I know--it's...necessary."

"'Necessary', my ASS!" Temp yelled back. "I refuse to accept that ridiculously sadistic prediction of yours! And I'll do everything in my power to prevent it!"

Temp turned her back, trembled and whispered quietly, "and I will. For now, I've got a job to get back to."

Tempest moved back to where she had been meditating earlier. She reached out and sensed the lifeline once more. Then, she began to levitate two feet above the temple floor.

Before she closed her eyes, she locked eyes once again with Nura. Nura was trembling and her eyes were filled with sorrow.

Temp couldn't bear to look at her for more than a second. She closed her eyes and reentered her trance. A single tear from each eye rolled down each cheek as her eyelids shut.