LNH: Classic LNH Adventures #48: The Crimes of the Brotherhood the Conclusion
Arthur Spitzer
arspitzer2 at gmail.com
Sun Feb 11 13:03:03 PST 2018
In this weeks reposting of stuff you can find in the eyrie archive
https://archives.eyrie.org/racc/lnh/
we have the final section of the whole EMPLOYEE-EMPOWERED, PARADIGM-SHIFTED,
INDIVIDUAL-OWNERSHIP, DOWNSIZED, STREAMLINED, REENVIGORATED CRIMES of
the BROTHERHOOD of NET.VILLAINS!!
Firstly, we have more Jeff "Drizzt" Barnes with number 22 of his
Continuity Champ and the Drizzt Defenders series where we check
on Mr. Homage and wonder if it might be a bit premature for him
to start smoking the victory cigars.
And for the last part, we have Martin Phipps penning the epilogue
for this crossover with System Corruptors #22b. Is Mr. Homage's
tenure as Boss Supreme of the Brotherhood over? And if so who can
ever possibly replace him. (Hint: Rhymes with Wagneto).
And now..
_
| | Classic
| | =
| | ____ ____ _ ____ ___
| |__ | [] | | [] | | | | [] | | _ \
|____| \__] \__ | |_| \__/ |_|\_\
||
|_| OF NET.HEROES
ADVENTURES #48
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The Crimes of the Brotherhood the Conclusion
=====================
Newsgroups: alt.comics.lnh,rec.arts.comics.creative
Subject: LNH: Continuity Champ & The Drizzt's Defenders #22
From: barnejd at wkuvx1.wku.edu (Jeff Barnes)
Date: 17 Jun 95 01:06:39 CDT
CONTINUITY CHAMP & THE DRIZZT'S DEFENDERS #22
"Old Flames"
TWEEDLING TWENTY-SECOND ISSUE!
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PREVIOUSLY:
After a battle with Eraserhead left him stranded in the Comics
Crossroads, CC met an aged man named Muse (actually an aspect of the Drizzt)
who persuaded him to return to the Looniverse. CC learned the missing
secrets of his past from the Drizzt, even as the Drizzt was secretly shown
to be more... MUCH MORE... than meets the eye. And, most importantly, CC
learned that he was dying...
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He was known as Mr. Homage, and he was at the height of his power.
The armored mastermind behind the Brotherhood of Net.Villains
allowed himself a small smile as he removed his metal mask. The months
since he'd returned to this dimension and taken leadership of the Brotherhood
away from that inept time-traveller Table had been long ones, but they were
at last paying off. After its recent profit-making binge and the even more
recent elimination of Continuity Champ, the Brotherhood now stood at the top
of the villainous heap. And Homage stood at the top of the Brotherhood.
No, it hadn't been easy, Homage thought as he poured himself a drink.
He'd had to face villainous competition, rivalry from inside the organization,
contract negotiations -- not to mention the ridicule that the Brotherhood's
name had evoked in those early days. But that was all at an end now; the
reign of Homage was just beginning. He sat down on his couch, propped up
his feet on the coffee table, kicked off his jet-propelled boots, and relaxed.
"This is how it is meant to be," he sighed contentedly to himself.
"Is that so?" another voice demanded dryly.
Homage sputtered and choked on his drink slightly as he whirled to
see the orange, green, and purple-clad owner of the new voice. All color
drained from his face at the sight of...
"Continuity Champ!"
"I'm glad you know my name. And how nice, considering I believe
I know yours." He looked closely at the unmasked villain's face. "Hmmm...
unless I'm mistaken, you used to be called... the Robbing Lie-fild, didn't
you? It's been a while."
"B-b-but, you're dead! I saw you die! And now you're alive!"
CC smiled grimly. "Such a fine grasp of the obvious. It's easy to
see how you came to lead the Brotherhood." He strolled around the master
villain's living quarters, observing the plush decor. "I must say, you've
certainly done well since the last time we met face to face, Lie-fild. Of
course, you always were a two-bit crook back then. Last I saw of you, the
LNH had had to leave you trapped in that extremely distorted parallel
Looniverse. You had some disease, too... Plague 501 Blue or something like
that. So, how is it that I find you here now, as the masked leader of the
BoNV?"
Homage still hadn't recovered from the shock of seeing the man he'd
had killed alive yet, but he did his best to answer. "It w-was a long
process. I did some dimensional travelling along the way, picked up this
containment suit to deal with my... condition. It gave me some time to
think, though." He had begun to find his equilibrium and was quickly
hatching a plan. "I accumulated some resources, made some new allies along
my trek. You've met Eraserhead, of course."
"Yes. I left him burning up while re-entering earth's atmosphere."
"Not to worry. I have sufficient cell samples to clone another of
him." Homage inched toward the molecular disintegrator he kept under one
cushion of the couch for just such an emergency as this. "Anyway, I took
control of this sorry bunch, added some new recruits, put together some good
initial missions, and... well, here we are."
"Yes, here we are," CC noted absently, glancing at the wallpaper.
Homage slowly reached under the couch...
With enough speed that Homage barely registered the movement,
Continuity Champ was beside him and had lifted him by the collar to his eye
level. "And I intend to stay here for quite some time, thank you. You'll
find your little toy has been teleported somewhere in Antarctica. I think
I've had enough of disintegration for one lifetime, thank you very much."
He glowered at the shaken villain. "Now, I know you've made your living at
surviving, at cutting deals that let you get by. I could take you in right
now and turn you over to the authorities. You'd be spending a lot of time
in prison, I think. But then I wouldn't know exactly what I want to know.
So, here's the deal: you tell me what I need to know, and I won't wipe the
floor with you. That way, we both get what we want, and we both walk away."
"Y-you mean you won't t-t-turn me in?"
"Not if I like your answer to this one little question."
"Shoot."
"Don't tempt me. What I want to know is, who put the price on my
head?"
"Price?" Homage unconvincingly feigned ignorance.
CC shook him, causing his armor to rattle. "The bounty. You know,
the one you had deposited in your bank account last week? Who paid you?"
"I don't know," Homage said.
"Too bad," CC remarked with mock sympathy. "You'll make almost as
lousy a jailbird as you have a super-villain."
"Wait! I'm telling the truth! I swear she never told me her name!"
"She?"
"Yeah, it was a woman. Blue skin, blond hair. Kinda weird, but I've
seen stranger. Anyway, even though she never gave her name, there is
something I do know."
"And that is?"
"Where you can find her. She's got this underground lair beneath
the old Bingham Building out on the east side. There's a secret elevator
there-"
"Never mind," CC said. "I'll take a more direct route." He lowered
Homage to the floor and turned to go, pressing a button on his LNH
communicator.
It was then that Homage heard the sirens and shouting from outside.
"You said you wouldn't take me in if I cooperated!" the villain screamed at
CC's back.
"That's right," CC said in an amused tone of voice. "But I never
said the rest of the LNH wouldn't." And then the cosmic crusader was gone.
Homage muttered and cursed as he slammed his helmet-mask back on.
He ran out the doorway, hoping to find escape.
His reign had lasted almost four minutes.
* * * * * * * *
The Bingham Building had opened in the late 1930s, on the eve of
World War II. In those days, it had been home to the Net.ropolis Gaz.net,
the city's up-and-coming periodical. When the Gaz.net had gone under and
been shut down in 1979, the building remained abandoned and fell into
disrepair. No one went there now.
And this particular no one was armed with planet-shattering might.
Streaking into the building at nearly ultra-sonic speed, Continuity
Champ crashed through its walls and floors like they were cardboard. Cosmic
energies seethed and pulsed around him as he slammed through the old
building; he felt the power sing to him in a way he could not remember having
occurred in years. Life was sweet, every second a gift, when you knew that
you were dying.
And then he was in the basement, standing in the middle of the only
shaft of light that pierced the gloom. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness,
he saw a figure draped over a large chair, though the contrast in lighting
made further observation impossible. He raised a hand to ward off the sun's
glare. "I'm Continuity Champ, and I've come for you."
The female form stood. "I know exactly who you are, Darryth Rath,
and I know exactly what you've done." She stepped forward, more into the
light, revealing a blue-skinned humanoid form, just as Homage had said. And
it was then that Darryth realized he knew her.
"Mirriam?"
His mind flashed back to that fateful night centuries before. He'd
been appointed a Knight of Continuity just years previous, given increased
might to protect and defend his adopted dimension and world. Things had at
last begun to look up for Darryth Rath. He even had a steady girlfriend.
Her name was Mirriam.
And then Dimwiticus came. After the Knights refused to aid him,
Rath had assembled and led all his world's heroes to battle the dimension-
destroyer, only to see them die, vaporized by the cosmic being's immense
might. Only he had survived that barrage, and he knew another would end his
existence. In desperation, he offered himself as herald to Dimwiticus in
exchange for the continued survival of his dimension. For reasons Rath did
not understand to this day, Dimwiticus accepted, and Darryth had vanished
with him that day, leaving behind the only life he'd known.
And Mirriam.
CC's mind was clouded by confusion. "I don't understand. What are
you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" the woman echoes coolly. "I'm ending your
existence, that's what I'm doing." From nowhere, a sword sprung into her
hand. "Remember this, 'Champion'? The Sword of Zagraz?"
Continuity Champ remembered. The Sword was a powerful retcotheric
item that had once been wielded by a renegade Knight. Its touch was deadly
to the true Knights, and many had fallen to it before Darryth and two of his
comrades had stopped the mad renegade. He slowly, cautiously backed away
from the woman.
"What's the matter, Darryth? Never thought you'd see this again?
Never thought you'd see ME again?" She lunged.
CC dodged to the side, and the blade narrowly missed his ribs. He
tried to call upon his power...
...Only to find the song had been blocked. Mirriam smiled, knowing
the source of his confusion. "Damping field," she said. "Stops your powers
pretty effectively. Used to be Doctor Dread's, if you remember."
Without thinking, he drew and ignited his sonic scimitar. Something
was terribly wrong here, he knew. Why would the woman he'd once... cared
for want to kill him? "Mirriam," he said, "why? Why are you doing this?"
She snarled and circled him, blade at the ready. "You really don't
know, do you? I shouldn't be surprised. I suppose you're too far above
mere mortals to care about what happened to the people you left behind."
"What are you talking about? My becoming Dimwiticus' herald saved
them from him!"
"And your betraying him in this dimension made him return for us!
He destroyed my world, Darryth! *You* destroyed my world!"
"I-I didn't know."
"Didn't know?" she spat. "No, you didn't! You didn't care, either.
How many years has it been, Darryth? Decades? Centuries? Millennia? How
many years since Dimwiticus cast you adrift? In all that time, you never
bothered to look back on the dimension you'd been charged to protect?"
Continuity Champ found that he had no answer , but she was far from
finished. "Do you remember the night Dimwiticus came? You calling for aid
from the Knights of Continuity, only to have your pleas turned down? 'Self-
righteous,' you called them. 'Hypocritical.' And you called them that
because they only saw the big picture, Dimwiticus' 'ultimate destiny,'
whatever that may be. They couldn't, they wouldn't, see the individual lives
he crushed."
"You hated them for that that night, Darryth. But in the end you did
the same thing. You couldn't be troubled with the petty concerns of our
world. No, in your cosmic ego, your overweening self-importance, you
abandoned us. And look at what happened!"
"The night Dimwiticus came again, there was no hope for us. All our
heroes had been destroyed in his previous coming. I went back to the
Fabulous Five's headquarters, hoping to find something to use against him.
And I found a lot of things." She gestured with her sword. "Like this, and
the damping field generator. And the time/space/dimension pod your father
used to send you to our universe. It was then that I realized who was to
blame for all this. You were. A few minor adjustments was all it took, and
I escaped the destruction of my dimension. I saw it destroyed just before
it put me into suspended animation. It took centuries for the sensors to
find you, but it was worth it, because today you die!" She swung the deadly
blade again, and Darryth barely parried in time.
She countered with a twisting, two-handed swipe. Darryth once again
stopped the blow with his energy blade, but did not counter-attack. His
mind was aflame with emotion. It couldn't have been his fault. But how
could he explain it to this avenging angel?
"Mirriam," he began, "listen. Maybe there's something we can do.
Maybe the whole dimension wasn't destroyed. It's been centuries. Perhaps
we can go back and help them rebuild. I can't change the past, but I can
try to make amends."
"Ha!" She sliced at him again. "I don't care about the others, you
idiot! You ruined *my* life! I had everything, and now I have nothing!
Nothing, and IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" She launched herself into an explosive
series of attacks, all of which Darryth neatly parried. She was good, he
conceded; after all, he'd taught her how to use the sword himself. But now
he understood; this was no avenging angel before him, but a petulant child,
angry that she hadn't gotten her way.
He tried a different tact. "Mirriam, you know it wasn't my fault
that Dimwiticus destroyed our dimension. It was his. I thought I would do
anything to save them... to save you. But when it came down to it, the next
dimension we came across was this one. And I couldn't be party to that,
Mirriam. It's the strongest rule a Knight knows: thou shalt not kill."
She laughed. "That's rich coming from you. I've watched some of
your exploits here while I was planning all this. You've killed in the line
of duty."
"Yes, but I won't be party to murder. And that's exactly what
Dimwiticus would have required of me. Tell me, how is it better for me to
have brought death to this dimension?" He saw doubt flicker in her eyes for
the first time and pressed his advantage. "I turned on Dimwiticus then, I
tried to stop him, to destroy him. And the only thing that kept him from
destroying me was a cosmic entity called the Drizzt."
Then he reached a sudden decision. He lowered his sonic scimitar
and shut it off. "Kill me if you will. I won't stop you. But killing me
won't solve anything. Deep down, you know that it isn't my fault, you know
that the blame rests with Dimwiticus." He paused. "But I accept and await
your judgment." He spread his hands and lowered his head in submission.
Mirriam's hands tightened around the hilt of her sword, and she
raised the blade high. Then for a long moment, there was neither sound nor
movement.
Her sword clattered to the ground. "Blast you, Darryth Rath," she
whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. She turned, and was swallowed
by the cascade of energies of a teleporter effect.
Darryth drew in a ragged breath. "Good bye, Mirriam. And... good
luck."
* * * * * * * * *
It was several hours later when Darryth made it back to the
Drizztsat. He had one last appointment, one last person to see. But, in
this case, last was far from least.
He pressed the touch pad on the door, sounding a chime within.
"Come in," a familiar voice said. CC stepped forward, and the door slid
open.
She sat in darkness, but from the hall's light, Darryth could see
she'd been crying. And he knew why.
And, for the first time in all the years he'd known her, he knew
exactly what to do.
As he stepped forward, her look was one of mixed disbelief and
jubilation. "d-d-darryth? how-" was all she had time to get out before
his lips met hers...
THE END
[Next issue: His past behind him, Continuity Champ realizes he may have no
future! As his condition becomes terminal, his body begins to break down
on a cellular level, leading our hero to turn to the LNH for help in the
first of the three part "Panacea Agenda"! Plus, CC has his final
confrontation with the villainous Festus Clint, undead cyborg sheriff; who
will live and who will die? "Breakdowns" ships June 21.]
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END NOTES
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The Robbing Lie-fild appeared (sort of) in CC&DDs #13. Mr. Homage,
of course, first appeared in THE FLAME WARS #1, and has been bopped around
ever since. For the conclusion to his story, read some other book by some
other person, because I'm not writing a follow-up. =)
Many of the events referred to in this issue were first chronicled
in the BLAZE OF GLORY miniseries, though Mirriam first shows up in this
issue.
FALL FROM SPACE consisted of CC&DDs #18-20.
The Judak/CC relationship has progressed (sort of) since her first
cameo appearance in #0. And, no, before anyone asks, they didn't. Just a
kiss, followed by a loooong explanation of how CC survived. After all, we
don't want Congressmen cracking down on the LNH next....
wReam, Evil and Entropy Incarnate, (c) 1995 Microsoft.
--
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Jeff Barnes barnejd at wkuvx1.wku.edu
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"The strongest desire is neither love nor hate. It is one person's need to
change another person's copy." - Anonymous
From: Martin <CXMP000 at MUSICA.MCGILL.CA>
Newsgroups: alt.comics.lnh,rec.arts.comics.creative
Subject: System Corruptors #22
Date: 06 JUL 95 23:23:07 EST
NOTE: I don't know if this is "canon" because I haven't heard from
either Drizzt (who's characters I'm using) or Jeff (who's storyline
I'm writing into) about the final draft. It's a bit of a tricky
situation, especially seeing as how you'd think they'd have read it
by now. Ah well. Here's System Corruptor's #22...
Prologue:
Lieutenant Sculder,
The Safe,
Colorado,
June 20th, 1995
The Hooded Ho''od Win wasn't talking. With Hiatus serving his sentence
in an apparently self-induced coma, that left Rumour Monger as the only
viable source of information on the Brotherhood. It was up to me to get
him to talk.
They had a room set up where we would meet: it would just be me, him,
a table, a couple of chairs and an overhead light. Two guards,
specially armoured in anticipation of a Brotherhood attack, stood
outside the door to the room. I passed by without saying a word,
closed the door behind me and sat down.
"Lieutenant Sculder, FBI (Federal Bureau of Invest.sig.ation-- MFP)."
"I've heard of you. Is it true what they say about you and your
partner?"
"We're not here to discuss my personal life."
"I knew it."
"You know what we're here to discuss."
"I do?"
"Tell me what you know about the Brotherhood, starting with the
location of their far-away secret base."
"What makes you think I'm going to tell you that?"
"Because I've been studying your personality profile: you're
essentially an information conduit; any little bit of gossip that
comes your way, you feel the need to pass on. Now, in this case,
there's something you know that I'd be interested in hearing about
and, as a result, you're dying to tell me about it. Am I right?"
"I think I can resist the temptation."
"Alright... then how's this? We'll put you in solitary confinement
until you feel like talking to us."
"Go ahead."
"Just think for a moment what that would mean: you'd be completely
shut off from the outside world. Frankly, I don't think you could
handle that."
"You underestimate me, Lieutenant."
Lieutenant Sculder,
The Safe,
Colorado,
June 30th, 1995
Rumour Monger was right when he accused me of underestimating him: I
expected him to say he was ready to talk within a week of solitary.
My superiors decided that I should try talking to him again, to look
for some sign, any sign that his resolve was weakening.
"So how's it been being kept in solitary?"
"It's been alright."
"You sure about that?"
"I heard about Mr. Homage being captured."
"You... you can't possibly be sure about that."
"I heard two guards talking about it in the hallway."
"How could you have heard that? The walls to your cell are soundproof."
"I'm a good listener. Well? It's true, isn't it?"
"Yes. In fact, I was going to tell you anyway. You see, now there's
no need to keep quiet: Mr. Homage won't be able to rescue you... or harm
you for that matter."
"You think I'm loyal to Mr. Homage out of fear? Tell me, Lieutenant,
is that how your superiors keep control over you?"
"I'm my own man, Mr. Monger. I do what I think is right."
"So do I, Lieutenant... and telling you what you want to know would be
wrong."
Lieutenant Sculder,
The Safe,
Colorado,
July 1st, 1995
Last night I came up with the way to outwit Rumour Monger: to use his
own methods against him. With any luck, he wouldn't suspect a thing
until it was too late.
"I must say I'm impressed."
"About what?"
"We never suspected that you were the _real_ mastermind behind the
Brotherhood."
"What are you talking about?"
"Mr. Homage broke: he explained the whole hierarchy of command.
I've got to admit that none of us would have realised that he was
just a figurehead and that you were the one pulling the strings."
"It's not true!"
"The evidence he provided us convinced us it was."
"Evidence? What evidence?"
"Documents he had hidden in his private hideout which described the
workings of your organisation."
"Look, I don't know about any documents implicating me but if you want
the official Brotherhood financial records they're kept in a safe in our
far away secret base."
"I'm afraid I can't just take your word for it."
"OK, fine: our far away secret base is located along the Eastern coast
of the Malaysian peninsula, ten miles north of Net.ripore."
"Thank you, Mr. Monger, you've been most helpful."
"I... oh @#$%."
System Corruptors #22: Crimes of the Brotherhood, The Aftermath
The far-away secret base of the Brotherhood of Net.Villains:
"We can't allow this embarassment to continue," Grim solemnly told
his fellow Net.Villains. "We need to break into The Safe and free
our captured teammates."
"Sounds good to me," Robgoblin said.
"I like it," said Repetitive Lad.
"Verily if we don't act we will regret it for the rest of our lives!"
Angst angsted.
"Don't use your power on us, Angst," Plotchopper fumed.
"So what's the plan?" Captain Coredump asked.
"Uh..."
"You do have a plan, don't you?" Polybag Person asked.
"Well..."
"Great. Just great," Revamp Lass said. "This is just what we need."
Colour-Error Man, Demented Designer and X-Intruder all started
snickering.
"This meeting is over," Plotchopper declared.
The Net.Villains began to file out of the room leaving Romantic
Innuendo alone with Grim. "Do not blame yourself," she told him. "None
of us were prepared to take over in the event of Mr. Homage's capture.
It serves no purpose for us to be ashamed of our limitations."
"What do you suggest we do?"
"We must look elsewhere for the leadership we need," Romantic Innuendo
told him.
A few days later, amongst the jungles of The Savage Place:
"Well, what do you think?" Pizza Girl asked Bizarre Boy.
"It's OK."
Pizza Girl sighed. "Now, Brian, I'm asking what you think about the
jungle: try not to think of this as the place where Lagneto lives."
"And I said, `It's OK'." Bizarre Boy grimaced. "I'd be lying if I
said it didn't bother me knowing that your father is a supervillain but
this jungle is, afterall, just a jungle."
"It's not just a jungle," Pizza Girl told him. "It's a geothermal
oasis is the heart of a frozen wasteland where, isolated from the
climactic changes in the outside world, the process of evolution has
lagged behind. Lagneto said that he was able to find this place thanks
to its unique lagnetic aura."
Bizarre Boy smirked. "Yeah, right. I think he just got blown here
by a lucky gust of wind and made up that bit about `lagnetic aura' just
to impress you."
Pizza Girl nodded. "You're probably right... but no matter what kind
of liar or criminal he may be he's still my father."
Bizarre Boy looked unconvinced.
"Look, Brian, do you know what your problem is?"
"What?"
"You see everything in black and white, good and evil, and if
something is evil you just hit it until it goes away. Well, I'm sorry,
Brian, but the real world just isn't like that: we're not all good or
all evil. It's true that Lagneto has done some bad things in the past
but I think he deserves a chance to make up for the past... and I
deserve to have a father."
Bizarre Boy sighed and nodded. "You may be right... but I can't help
thinking of Lagneto as a supervillain... and I'm worried about how you
would react if he were to revert to type."
Just then, our heroes heard the sound of a jet overhead.
"Who would be flying a jet here?" Pizza Girl asked.
"They must have spotted this place," Bizarre Boy surmised.
"Do you think they'll try to land?"
"They would have flown past by now if they weren't coming in for a
landing. Look, over there."
"They're coming down near Lagneto's citadel. Do you think they're
here to see him?"
"Or maybe they were just looking for a suitable clearing. Come on,
let's find out!"
The jet turned out to be state-of-the-art with vertical take-off and
landing. There were no visable markings on it to indicate that it
belonged to any known government. A door openned and a stairway was
extended to the ground.
"Stay back, Aili," Bizarre Boy told Pizza Girl. "Let Lagneto deal
with this."
Lagneto came out to greet his visitors. There was fury in his eyes:
he didn't like unannounced guests.
Grim of the Brotherhood of Net.Villains was the first to come out
of the plane. "Oh, great Lagneto! We seek sanctuary here against those
who would hunt us down."
Lagneto didn't answer.
"There are twelve of us: we're what's left of the Brotherhood of
Net.Villains after our recent encounters with the Legion of Net.Heroes."
"Is it the Legion who pursues you?" Lagneto asked.
"No, my Lord: it is the combined forces of S.C.O.R.E. (Supreme Command
of Retrograde Eavesdroppers) and the CIA (Central Intel.igence Agency)."
Lagneto shook his head. "I suggest you get on your plane and leave.
I want no part in--"
A dozen helicopters appeared from out of nowhere and began circling
Lagneto's citadel. "YOU'RE ALL UNDER ARREST! GIVE YOURSELVES UP AND
YOU WON'T BE HARMED!"
The only thing Lagneto hated more than uninvited guests was uninvited
guests who tried to tell him what to do. He instinctively struck out
against them by slowing down their propellers and causing them to drop
like stones.
"FATHER! NO!"
The sound of Aili's voice woke Lagneto from his fury and he caught
himself in time to slow the descent of the helicopters enough to prevent
causing the passengers any serious injury. Most of the helicopters
landed in such a way that they were damaged beyond repair however.
"I SUGGEST YOU ALL LEAVE!" Lagneto announced to them all.
Grim grimaced, having failed once again. Then, suddenly, he noticed
a sniper in the distance. "GET DOWN!"
Grim rushed towards Lagneto, hoping to pull him down to the ground.
Lagneto, meanwhile, was unconcerned: he simply created a lagnetic field
around him that slowed down any and all bullets that entered it, thus
rendering them non-lethal.
"YOU WERE WARNED!" Lagneto screamed. "DO NOT THINK I CAN'T SENSE
WHERE YOU ARE! NO GOVERNMENT AGENT WILL SURVIVE SHOULD HE TRY TO
APPROACH ME!" Lagneto looked down at Grim. "Do not fear: I will not
forget how you tried to save me."
Within an hour, the government agents had retreated to the remaining
functioning helicopters and had flown off into the distance, supposedly
to an aircraft carrier located somewhere off in the Alt.lantic.
Pizza Girl approached Lagneto with Bizarre Boy following close behind.
"You're not seriously thinking of becoming their leader, are you?"
"They belong in prison," Bizarre Boy said.
"Indeed," Lagneto said, "and perhaps I do as well."
"I didn't say that."
"But you don't deny thinking it." Lagneto scoffed. "Your government
clearly has orders to shoot me on sight: I'm as much a futigive from
justice as they are."
"Where will you go?" Pizza Girl asked.
"I can't tell you."
Bizarre Boy grimaced. "Aili, we'd better go." Seeing that he was
upset, he resisted the urge to gloat over having, apparently, been
right about Lagneto all along.
Lagneto watched them leave, heading towards the flight.thingee that
would take them home. As the new leader of the Brotherhood of
Net.Villains, he would find soon find himself in conflict against the
Legion once more. His own daughter would be his enemy. He didn't like
to think about that scenario... so he didn't. He put it out of his
mind altogether and considered his next move.
"With slight modifications, the Brotherhood's jet should be capable
of taking us all to... Asteroid L."
Epilogue:
Meanwhile, at the Headquarters of the Legion of Net.Heroes in
Net.ropolis:
A large man in a black trenchcoat and dark sunglasses walked through
the marble front doors of LNH HQ into the lobby. Two men in military
uniforms wheeled a strecher in behind him. They approached the
reception desk.
"FBI," he announced. "I want to speak to Organic Lass."
"I'm Organic Lass." Organic Lass had just appeared at the top of the
stairs. Doctor Bad-Bedside-Manner crept up behind her. "What do you
want?"
The mysterious FBI agent pointed to the man layed out behind him.
"We found this guy in the far away secret base of the Brotherhood of
Net.Villains. When we found him he was barely alive. We managed to
stabilise him and we've brought him here."
"Why here?" Doctor Bad-Bedside Manner asked as he and Organic Lass
descended the staircase.
"He clearly needs more medical attention. We didn't want to keep him
at an ordinary hospital with the Brotherhood still at large."
"What happened to him?" Organic Lass asked.
"We don't know. It's like I said, this is how we found him."
Organic Lass sighed. "Alright Doctor, let's get Professor Perhap into
the med lab."
THE END
Brotherhood and S.C.O.R.E. created by Drizzt
Rumour Monger, Romantic Innuendo and Captain Coredump created by wReam
Professor Perhap created by Mark Friedman
Lagneto created by Jef Kolodziej
Pizza Girl based on Aili of rec.arts.comics.xbooks
Organic Lass created by Rebecca Drayer
Doctor Bad-Beside-Manner created by Tick
Bizarre Boy is Public Domain
FBI characters sort of ripped off from Fox
Martin
==========
Next Week: Time to put on that old asbestus suit -- cuz things are about
to get toasty! FLAME WARS III is Coming!!
==========
Arthur "Same Classic Channel. But Same Time? Probably not." Spitzer
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