REPOST: RAC Challenge! #5

Arthur Spitzer arspitzer at earthlink.net
Tue Sep 1 19:33:32 PDT 2015


Chapter by Aaron Levitz..

From: franke at ucs.indiana.edu (Jerry L Franke)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.creative
Subject: REPOST: RAC Challenge! Ch. 5
Date: 5 Nov 1995 16:55:55 GMT


Continuing our Challenge! reprinting with chapter 5.  See Henry Broaddus'
informational posting elsewhere in this newsgroup for details.

===========================================================================


                                 RAC CHALLENGE
                                       
Chapter 5: Into the Swamp

  OR HOW CAN I LOVE YOU WHEN YOU KILLED ME LAST NIGHT?
  
   by Aaron Levitz
   title by Jerry Franke
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Merton Flagler never knew what hit him. The kill was quick and
   efficient--the work of a true professional. The killer stood behind
   him in a classic gymnastic 'Y' position. Satisfied, Mary Lu plucked
   the Ultimate Marble from Merton's clutching fingers and felt Paragon's
   Ultimate Powers flow through her, merging with her own.
   
   "This is nice," she thought, fingering the gold medal around her neck.
   "Five minutes and I'm already twice as powerful."
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   "You?!" Paragon was at a loss for other words.
   
   "Yep. Me."
   
   "But, Scott! You're..."
   
   "Dead?"
   
   "No."
   
   "Pregnant?"
   
   "Uh uh."
   
   "I give up then. Tell me, Mr. Darringer."
   
   "The next author!"
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Mary Lu was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Ah, yes. Tito and
   Tina, the Ultimate Twerps. Do come in."
   
   "What have you done with Dr. Flagler?!" demanded Tina.
   
   "I've stabbed him in the back," explained Mary Lu, gesturing subtly
   towards the knife. "Duh."
   
   "That's the Ultimate Woman, all right," observed Tito. Tina whacked
   him upside the head.
   
   Mary Lu took her medal off and let it hang loosely in her hand,
   swaying softly from left to right. In her other hand, the marble
   glowed in hypnotic patterns.
   
   "Give it up," jeered Tina. "You know I can't be hypnotized." That was
   one of the many defenses her Ultimate Sunglasses provided her with.
   
   "Actually," explained Mary Lu, "I wasn't trying to hypnotize you."
   
   "So this is all just a misunderstanding? You aren't evil? You actually
   plan to serve the good of the universe?"
   
   "Of course I do. But the good of the universe would be best served
   without anyone else's interference."
   
   "Well, if you aren't trying to hypnotize me, what are you doing?"
   
   "I'm hypnotizing your brother."
   
   Before Tina could react, Tito took a bite of the Ultimate Sandwich and
   blasted her into tiny pieces with the energy this provided. Mary Lu
   picked up Tina's shades and put them on. She had Tito hand her the
   sandwich, and instructed him to find a swamp and feed himself to the
   alligators.
   
   Mary Lu took one final look at her recent victims. "I'll tell ya,
   guys. You may not think much of me now, but you'll love me in the
   morning..."
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   "So why am I here?"
   
   "Well, the story's about to become very difficult for you, and the
   Collective figured it would be a good chance for you to beg for your
   life."
   
   "Excuse me?"
   
   "Look. For a short time, I'm in complete control of your destiny.
   Whether you live or die is entirely my decision. I have power, you are
   nothing. Grovel before me."
   
   "I have a better idea."
   
   Paragon spat in Scott Cederlund's face. He punched Scott in the
   stomach, and kicked him repeatedly in the shins. "Paragon does not
   grovel."
   
   "Next chapter," growled Scott. "You will understand the true meaning
   of the word 'pain.' Now get out of my sight!"
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Mary Lu was about to exit the DIOS building when she noticed that the
   exits had curiously become sealed shut. A large television descended
   from the ceiling in front of her, and she wondered half-heartedly if
   it had cable.
   
   "Well, Paragon! Let's try this again. Same ploy--sealed room, lots of
   explosives. My sensors tell me you aren't carrying the Jas Rswert, so
   you're going to have to be a little more creative this time. Oh, wait
   a second. You're not Paragon."
   
   "You can't tell the difference between the Ultimate Man and the
   Ultimate Woman?"
   
   "I was tracking him through the Ultimate Marble. He's never without
   it. No matter. If you're the Ultimate anything, I'll enjoy blowing you
   up."
   
   "No chance." Mary Lu reached through the screen and grabbed Malevo by
   the shirt.
   
   "Can you do that?" he asked, incredulously.
   
   Mary Lu shrugged. "Stop me."
   
   "Paragon never did that."
   
   "Paragon never showed up for class. He didn't know what the Ultimate
   Marble was capable of."
   
   Mary Lu pulled Malevo's arm through the screen and let go. The screen
   sealed shut around it, anchoring him to the spot. Malevo was
   impressed. He moved his fingers about and watched them dancing on the
   other side.
   
   "Very nice. If I blow up the building, my arm will be caught in the
   explosion. That would hurt tremendously. It's common knowledge that
   I'm not fond of pain, so you figure I'll have to let you go.
   Unfortunately, the bomb's on a timer. I can't disable it unless you
   release me." Malevo was finding it very difficult to make hand
   gestures, and the side of his face was pressed uncomfortably against
   the screen. Given the choice, Malevo would have been anywhere else on
   the face of the earth at that moment.
   
   "Not quite the plan. I'm going to pull you through the rest of the way
   and climb up into your hideout. Then, I'm going to watch you die in
   your own trap."
   
   "I think not."
   
   Malevo twisted his arm around and pressed the 'off' button on the TV.
   The screen went black and Mary Lu was left alone with his arm. A
   second later, the bombs exploded, destroying everything within a 6
   mile radius.
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Mary Lu brushed the debris off her costume and surveyed the damage.
   This was exactly the sort of reason why she had to eliminate
   humankind.
   
   For the good of the universe. A little bored, she attached Malevo's
   arm and flexed it experimentally.
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   "What?!"
   
   "We need to team up, Paragon."
   
   "But you're evil!"
   
   "You can't defeat her alone. Not without your Ultimate Marble. You
   don't know how to use the Jas Rswert, and I have no chance without
   it."
   
   "I'm not giving back the Jas Rswert. It took me too long to get it
   away from you when you quit the Ultimate Force."
   
   "Then we have a problem."
   
   --urk!
   
   "What was that?"
   
   "Mary Lu just destroyed the Ultimate Collective."
   
   "That can't be a good thing."
   
   "No. Probably not."
     _________________________________________________________________
   
     * Next issue: Chapter 6: Two Question Marks and an Apostrophe, or
       Picnic of the Damned by Scott Cederlund
       
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Special thanks to Jerry Franke for giving me something to work with.
   Four days just isn't enough. My apologies to Scott, and to whoever
   follows him.
   
   
    Aaron Levitz (blobbo at rain.org)

===========================================================================

--

Jerry L. Franke                        franke at cs.indiana.edu
Computer Science Dept.                 Indiana University
formerly from Florida State University http://www.cs.fsu.edu/~franke



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