“Next time, don’t schedule the shipment so late.” Big Dino warned his henchmen.

“Boss, we can’t move our product in the daylight. You know it’s especially difficult to avoid the cops when you’re around. Imagine doing this with pedestrians around, we’d be up at PrisonHead before making a dollar.”

Big Dino growled in response, knowing his man was right, but still feeling inconvenienced. There was a trivia show that night that he was playing along with, though how he framed it to his crew was that he had a ‘score to settle’.

Unloading trucks back at the warehouse, the mobsters were incapacitated. The world went dark for Big Dino and a bright light shone in front of him. He knew what was to come.

“REPENT.” spoke the powerful voice.

“You gonna haunt me like a ghost or something? I don’t owe you anything.” Big Dino was dismissive of the one who brought him to the world of man.

The light disappeared and all the stunned henchmen awoke, discussing briefly and then back to work. It was not over, however.

This time, the men were not taken out. Light filled the hideout, illuminating all the criminal activities taking place. Drugs, weapons, stolen items and money filled the room. Light began to fade to reveal the source. 

A man stood on the air, eyes glowing bright white, with a staff, at the end of which was a luminous, floating orb. His features were obscured by the light, but his face was greatly displeased.

“LOWEST OF ALL LIFE.” the room shook with his voice and light spread from him in a wave across the room. All of the men were knocked back, as the power was clearly not a final measure, more of signaling them for their chance to run.

All the henchmen looked to Big Dino and his steadfast position gave them reason not to take the opportunity. Instead, guns were tossed to each man, and Big Dino smiled.

“Get him outta here.”

With the boss’s command, the being of light was peppered with bullets. He made no effort to stop or even slow any of the barrage. Instead, his facial features lightened up for a moment. It seemed the retaliation was so futile, it was humorous.

Unharmed, the being removed all bullets from his skin and clothing. Metal in a flash turned to even brighter specks of light. Then, with a motion of the staff, they were all sent out, penetrating every single henchman. From their lifeless bodies, light shone through the holes left behind. Big Dino, scowling in the distance, was not touched.

“See that?” he pointed to the wall behind him, which also had holes of light. Curiously, they were in his exact outline. “No wonder you’re trying to convince me to repent. You can’t touch me.” Big Dino menacingly walked towards the man of light. “But I’m willing to put money on this, friend. I can touch YOU.” He dropped to all fours and charged the corner where the being stood. 

Before reaching the corner, it was dark for a moment until the light reappeared behind him.

“REPENT.”

“You’re panicking.” Big Dino charged again.

“REPENT” the building shook violently.

“Name my sin, firefly.” the dinosaur composed himself and returned to two legs, noticing his suit was all torn up.

“MUR-” while speaking, he was interrupted by the horns of Big Dino.

Pinned against the wall, the two locked eyes.

“Under this suit… I’m still a dinosaur, but under all that light, you’re still just a man.”

Big Dino began to press into the being, who was gripping his staff still. His power couldn’t intervene with the dinosaur again, but his body could. He slammed the orb against the side of the mob boss’s head, causing him to stumble and in that moment, teleported away.

“That’s right, altar boy.” Big Dino mocked the fleeing deity. He checked the clock and sat on the couch, just in time for his trivia. He’d worry about staffing back up another time.

On a quiet night at the Big City Port, a legendary hero from a faraway land stepped foot onto the boat of a notorious criminal. From afar, he was monitored by a local hero, Beaverclaw, who suspected him of nefarious acts.

Beaverclaw held his hands like binoculars over his eye mask, scoping out the situation. The giant in lederhosen was viewed laughing boisterously at something said by Puff, who was known for his violent, reactive nature.

The duo and Puff’s posse entered the boat and left the sight of Beaverclaw, who began to swing from tree to tree, using only his teeth to grasp branches. He wondered if his hunch was right, if the mysterious beer that indirectly killed his brother was a product of Bierguardian’s false heroism. Was he just a fraud? Though Beaverclaw idolized the old man as a boy, he couldn’t allow the world to go on believing he was good.

Beaverclaw set off to expose Bierguardian’s facade, revealing his true intentions and criminal behavior. He landed on the boat’s deck and unleashed his dagger-like claws, tearing off the faces of a couple of unarmed guards. With a whack of his tail, he silenced them and forced them into the river below.

Down the stairs Beaverclaw followed, hearing more laughter and then an abrupt silence. As he crept along, he heard a single SLAM. Around a corner, he heard footsteps. He swung his tail at near top speed and it was halted with ease by the oaken shield of Bierguardian.

“Beaverman!” Bierguardian smiled and shouted. He held in one hand a locked metal case, his famous spigot stuck into his waistband. “I saw you on the TV!”

“What?” the Claw paused his investigation upon hearing this news. “What do you mean?”

“Yes!” replied the jolly giant.

“Yes?”

“Yes!”

“What is happening?”

“Your parents want you home. They say, ‘COME HOME BABY BOYS’ all over TV and then they show videos of you covered in beavers.”

“Boys?”

“Yes! Your brother. They say, ‘BLAKE BRING HOME OTHER BABY BOY’.”

“So they don’t know.” Beaverclaw sat on a stair, suspending the situation to converse with the Guardian. “Brett went down with the yacht. I was the only survivor.”

“I’m so sorry, friend. How did this happen?”

Beaverclaw stood, remembering why he was there. “What does ‘Hoffenjofferbrostlbach’ mean to you?”

“Ahh yes. This was a traditional lager when I was still… When I was younger.”

“Who brewed it. Was it you?”

“No. Only the Brewmaster could create such beauty. Me? I drink, Blake Baxter.”

“Where is this Brewmaster? That beer killed my brother.”

“Impossible. The last bottle of Hoffenjofferbrostlbach was sold to the Big City Museum. That’s a relic of the old country.”

Beaverclaw considered the implications of this revelation.

“Why are you here and what is in that case?”

“OH HAHAHA.” Bierguardian laughed from his chest, realizing how the situation must look to a young hero. “Worry not, Beaver Blake!”

Bierguardian motioned for the Claw to follow and they entered the room where Puff was lying on the floor. He had clearly puffed up real big and been struck by the big man, as his body was deflated across the entire room.

“I came to take this!” Bierguardian raised the metal case to show Beaverclaw. “It’s some silly weapon or something.”

Beaverclaw felt embarrassed doubting the legendary hero. Noticing this, Bierguardian offered support. “I can help you find the Brewmaster… If that is truly what you want.” His tone was quiet and fearful. 

Beaverclaw lit up and looked up at Bierguardian, saying with pure determination, “It is.”

“I must warn you, young hero, there is something….someone, that is always at his side. Something infinite. Someone sinister.” he continued on with an eerie tone, in complete contrast to his usual demeanor.

“That’s okay.” Beaverclaw started walking out of the ship paying literally 0 attention to Bierguardian’s warning. The big man followed happily.

“At least my identity is still a secret.” Beaverclaw stated.

“What? No, they know you are Beaverman.”

“They think I’m Beaverman.”

“Okay!”

Beaverclaw and Bierguardian set off to locate Brewmaster and put an end to his wicked brews.

Bianca closed up the bakery later than usual, after a low traffic day. She cleaned the counters and the floors thoroughly, then packed up whatever leftovers she had. It was getting more and more difficult to keep the shop as her landlord raised the rent. People were going to the big grocery stores, like HungryWay for their baked goods. Thankfully, her large group of loyal daily customers would never choose to go elsewhere.

As she went to lock the door, she watched the beloved bakery cat, Butters, run into the alleyway through his cat door. Curious, she thought, so she walked around the corner to see what he was doing. He was often off on his own out of sight, but she’d never seen him leave the shop that late.

Butters paced in circles in the alleyway as if looking for a spot to sleep. He jumped onto the dumpster and sniffed the open side. With a disgusted cough, he tumbled off the top and fell onto the floor theatrically.

“Butters!!” Bianca shouted at the briefly knocked out cat, dropping everything to check on him. She knelt over him and felt his little cat chest to make sure he was breathing. He was truly just being dramatic, but she couldn’t tell. “Butters, Butters!!” She shouted a couple more times and at the final call, she was blasted out of the alleyway and into the street.

Though confused, Bianca had enough sense to see a car quickly approaching. She raised a hand and blasted buttercream towards the street to propel herself back at the bakery. With a gentle landing, she peered into the alley again to sort out what happened. Butters was gone.

Bianca ran back into the shop and into the back room, now convinced someone attacked her and stole Butters. She spun around and adorned the full BakeSale getup. From the cakes in the cooler she was inspired to wear a lemon loaf instead of her traditional cake mask, she felt it was more fitting to search for her yellow cat in his own color.

Out the back door of the shop, BakeSale flew through the air, covering the ground behind her in delicious icing. She followed the alley a few blocks and then looked around when she saw a more crowded street. This late at night, not many people were out, so she figured it would be easy to spot someone smuggling a cat.

Across the street, behind a seafood restaurant, she saw a large shadow being cast. She flew down quickly, feeling that this was the culprit.

“AHA!” BakeSale shouted, producing cream-filled croissants, which she launched at the giant’s back. Each small pastry knocked the yellow giant forward a little. It turned and BakeSale saw its face covered in tuna scraps. The pastries embedded in its back exploded and the cream went everywhere, though the giant didn’t react.

BakeSale threw more and more pastries, but the giant covered in fish just opened its mouth wide and enjoyed the snacks. She grew furious and decided to switch up her attack. She summoned dough and worked it in her hands for a moment to produce a dough-boy. It stood on the ground and grew from powerful yeast that BakeSale imbued within it.

The yellow giant wiped the fish scraps into its mouth and stood, upset that no more pastries were flying at it. BakeSale squinted at the giant and recognized the face of the beast. 

“Butters?!” She questioned with maximum confusion.

Butters looked at BakeSale, sniffed, and knew who she was. He shrunk back into cat form and walked between the legs of the giant dough-boy into her arms. Dough-boy fell apart, its mission over before it began.

“Buddy, I never knew.”

“Meow.”

The two returned to the bakery and Bianca spoke to him about all of her heroics. She fed him pastries as the sun came up and prepped to reopen the bakery.

Her first customer wore sunglasses and a mask, a first timer for sure. Bianca couldn’t stop looking at his midsection, which seemed to be an odd shape.

“Excuse me, miss. I’ll take a box of assorted pastries.” he looked up from the display case for the first time to see the baker’s face. “Do I… know you from somewhere?” He asked, almost seeming to get emotional.

Bianca was worried that the man recognized BakeSale and worried for her secret identity. She hid her face with a baking sheet and ran to the back room. “We’re all out of pastries, sir.”

The man shrugged, looking at the abundance of sweets before him. Butters rubbed against the man’s leg and received a loving pet on the back. 

“Uhh, I’ll come back then.” he said as he left the store.

“Please don’t.” Bianca whispered behind the wall, though he was already outside. She couldn’t shake the strange feeling she had. She recognized him too.

Otis’ foe had eluded him for far too long. Even with the advanced capabilities of the craft he was trapped within, finding the alien felt an impossibility. An enticing thought came to him as he hovered above a small town; what if the ship could locate members of the alien species who built it? There were certainly enough buttons and switches for that to be one of the functions.

With a sigh of resignation to this idea, Otis flipped a switch he hadn’t tested before. The ship instantly started to move. “First time’s the charm” he thought. A few hundred feet away, the autopilot stopped in front of a restaurant and Otis looked below. Could he have been that close already?

A beam projected from the center of the ship’s bottom, lifting something up and holding it there. Otis grinned and piloted the ship to a rooftop where he landed and moved the tractor beam so it would hold his victim in place.

“Hey man, my whole family watched that. Everyone saw you and your ship, you should probably just go. They’re very litigious.”

Otis shook his head and flipped what he thought was the same switch. This one sent out a drone that probed the man, who was left stranded on the rooftop as Otis found the correct switch.

Again, testing out the different abilities of the ship, one of the buttons was actually slightly different. There seemed to be an opening beside it with a slot for liquid. Otis rubbed his fingers on the edge of his pitchfork and dropped some of the dried alien blood down into the slot. He pushed the button and autopilot began. A screen showed up, showing a bulbous figure on a radar. He had done it.

Otis zoomed across the planet and toward Big City. It was so obvious the alien would be in the metropolis, more space to blend in, more cover from the tall buildings, and enough freaks where it would fit in.

The target neared and the ship’s tractor beam was about to make contact with something below, when Otis heard a voice.

“Otis. Otis is that you?”

He would recognize that voice if it was ten miles underwater. It was his wife, Wanda. He stopped the beam and moved the ship to hover beside her. She wasn’t the same, however. The alien experiments on his crops had changed her into something.. Alien. Some kids walking by pointed and shouted to their parents, “Hey look, it’s Wumpus!!” They took a selfie with the purple monster and carried on.

“Honey, come home. I’m sorry.” Wumpus pleaded. “We can’t throw away a lifetime together over one mistake.”

“Wand- Wumpus, I can’t. For so many reasons, I can’t.” Otis let out a long breath and lowered his head. He was mainly referencing being stuck inside the small ship with a jammed door, unable to exit, even if he wanted. Wumpus believed there was more to it.

The purple monster rooted into the ground, her feelings deeply hurt by Otis’ swift rejection. She grew a few sizes and then rose from the pavement. “Let’s go home, Otis.” Wumpus had a surprisingly commanding voice, for an alien eggplant beast.

“Sorry, honey.” Otis piloted the ship away, engaging the hyper thrusters to make a quick escape. A moment before release, he saw something odd on the sidewalk. A noodly alien in a jumpsuit with a laser blaster in one hand and an ice cream cone in the other sauntered by. He checked his radar, nothing. The one that got away was not of the same species, that was clear to him now by its appearance. He disengaged the ship and attempted to get closer.

“HOME!”

Wumpus screeched like a space whale, wrapping the ship in her stalk arms. She lost herself in her love for Otis. The target below noticed the commotion and panicked, running away immediately. Frustrated, Otis reengaged his thrusters, burning the dry arms of Wumpus, though they grew back instantly.

Through the city the craft weaved, chasing down the alien, not letting it out of sight for more than a moment.

Wumpus screamed, rampaging behind, rolling through the street with no concern for civilians below. 

“OTIS! I LOVE YOU OTIS!”

The ruckus and damage drew the attention of nearby heroes. Out of a bakery BakeSale blasted towards Wumpus, propelled by delicious buttercream.

“Take a sec, sis!” she yelled to the monster, though she didn’t slow a bit.

From an alleyway leapt Butters, standing in front of the giant purple bulb, holding strong with kitty force. He grabbed from his shorts a ball of yarn, unraveling it to wrap Wumpus in place. With Bakesale’s braids of dough as well, the monster was held still. From above, Duperman descended, smiling as if he helped.

“Great job, team.” BakeSale and Butters heaved for air, looking at Duperman with puzzled expressions. “I feel like I missed something.”

“You missed everything.” BakeSale responded. Butters licked his paws and returned to the alley beside the bakery.

“I hope she didn’t kill anyone, yikes. I know from experience, that is bad for your image.” Duperman stated.

“Hey, why don’t you go check on those other guys?” BakeSale suggested, ready to return to civilian life.

“Sure.” Duperman looked around for a bit to find who she was talking about. She pointed down one street to give him direction. 

Otis finally reached his foe. The noodly alien was caught in the tractor beam and the farmer could finally finish what he started.

“You’re not like the others, what are you a mutant or som’n?” Otis asked.

“I am not. I had infiltrated their ship.” the alien replied.

“Is that right? Well, to me, an alien’s an alien unless it’s human.” Otis moved to press a button and eliminate the alien.

“Wait, wait. I have to return to my family. I shouldn’t be here.”

“What’s your name, son?”

“I am Limbis Kwungo.”

“Well Limbo, I know something about family. Those are the only ones who can really hurt ya.”

Otis again moved towards the button, this time interrupted by more than words. The tractor beam retracted and Limbis ran away quickly. The ship slammed into the side of a building, and Otis looked to see what happened.

Outside the window, Duperman floated with a smirk, he fixed his cape and looked Otis in the eye, smiling wider. They’d encountered each other on numerous occasions and had become acquainted.

“It’s so funny I was just talking about killing people, and I know, I KNOW you were going to kill that guy. I saw it in your eye. You were gonna press that button there and kill that guy.”

“Sure as heck was.”

“Otis, look.” Duperman’s face became elated. He flew to the side of the ship where the door was. “I broke it open. You’re not stuck anymore. You can leave the ship!”

Otis pulled the door shut as hard as he could and the ship started to ascend slowly.

Duperman drifted alongside slowly. “But, Otis, it’s open.”

“No. No it ain’t.” Otis replied with a cold stare, jetting off into the sky. As he flew, he grabbed from his pocket a picture of himself with Wanda many years before and wiped tears from his eyes.

A time came when Dracula’s Dog grew bored of his painfully empty castle. Though he planned to return some day, he briskly exited through the front door, where he stopped to remember his first time entering. Visions of his master flooded his puppy mind. Tremendous sadness and loss filled his heart. Standing in the doorway, he growled. He growled at the castle. He growled at himself. He growled, hoping Dracula would just return.

Dracula’s Dog left his frustrations at the castle entryway. He marched down the hill and through the town below. It had modernized quite a bit since he first lived there. Many blood donors he attracted over the many years bowed as he strolled down the street, honoring the adorable dog they worshiped. Others hid, heeding the legends of the vampiric menaces of the castle.

Away from the town past an expansive field of fading green and stone ruins sat a poorly kept graveyard. Headstones crumbled away into piles of rubble below. Most of the etched lettering was gone, weathered away. Dracula’s Dog stepped up to each of the graves, feeling drawn to them. A bouquet of flowers left by a loved one had rolled away from the wind. Dracula’s Dog didn’t know where it belonged, so he spent some time giving a single flower to each plot.

Placing the final flower, Dracula’s dog heard a voice approaching, as well as slow, methodical drumming that was almost too low to be audible. He was curious, but instinctually ran to hide behind a mausoleum.

“This is it, TUM. Dracula’s grave. This is why I dragged you all the way here, big guy.” Dracula’s Dog viewed around the side of the exquisite stone, nearly barking in excitement hearing that this was where his master laid to rest. Two large men were looking at the mausoleum; one tall with a long trench coat and the other a monster of a human.

“This?” TUM probed, coming from before the Dracula’s fame had spread.

“I gotta be honest here. This is a major shot in the dark. I don’t know if this guy’s even in here. If he is, I’m not a hundred percent sure I could raise him, powerful as he was.” Tombs confessed.

Dracula’s Dog, listening in, leapt out from behind the mausoleum and flew towards Tombs. Neither of the men budged. Desperate to reunite with his master, he bit Tombs’ coat and pulled him towards the entrance.

“Hold on there, little guy.” Tombs chuckled and waved his mace at Dracula’s Dog, intending to allow him to speak. Dracula’s Dog felt a tickle, but no effect. “Yeah I didn’t think that would work.” Tombs laughed and pet the pup, being friendly along with analyzing the material around him.

Tombs’ brow hardened and he grabbed the robe, trying to pull it off of Dracula’s Dog, who in return vanished for a moment to bite the tall man in the neck. TUM beat his drum, blasting Dracula’s Dog and Tombs across the field, followed by the rubble from the floor and many headstones.

Dracula’s Dog raised from the floor and flew to TUM, biting him on the neck as well. Then, he backed off and stood at the mausoleum entry, now protecting it. He waited, growling as Tombs rejoined the standoff, hoping they would both be turned quickly. Tombs gave a signal for TUM to relax and spoke to Dracula’s Dog.

“That’s not going to work, little guy. He’s already dead, and me… I got somethin else goin on.” 

Dracula’s Dog calmed down and realized the two meant him no harm. When Tombs approached again, however, he backed away, protecting the robe he wore.

“Ahh, I won’t try to take that again. I just wanted to be certain it was authentic. And that it is.” Tombs put up both hands, showing the pup that he was not coming for the robe again. He passed by and put a hand against the mausoleum door. “Let’s see if we can wake your daddy.”

The mausoleum door opened slowly. Night seemed to fall that very moment, but within the darkness of the structure was nothing. Dracula’s Dog barked into the empty room angrily as TUM and Tombs backed away. They stood waiting for him for a while, each knowing the appearance of true pain.

“What do you say we take him with us?”

“The dog?” TUM asked.

“Yes, the dog. We came here for his master, but he’s got all his master’s powers. Even better, he doesn’t talk.”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on, TUM. You hate talking.”

“He can’t chew my drumsticks.”

“Of course not, big guy.”

A few more minutes passed before Dracula’s Dog came walking out of the mausoleum.

“Hey, vampire dog. You wanna join up with us and kill a demon?”

Dracula’s Dog ignored the question and began walking away from the graveyard.

“You can chew on his drumsticks.” Tombs pointed to TUM’s bones and skulls. Dracula’s Dog raised from the ground and flew to TUM, immediately gnawing on one of his drumsticks.

“Good boy.”

Following a police report and numerous reports, the being known as Gospel had become a common topic in Big City. Exposing the operations of a crime syndicate by shredding the walls of their warehouse with beams of light put a stop on major crimes for a few weeks. Many saw Gospel as a savior of the city, the first to challenge the new regime of wrongdoers, who were united under BD’s leadership.

Within the city, Gospel would appear sparingly. At moments of darkness, of pain, he would illuminate and heal. Over a short span of time, he amassed a following of adoring, devoted fanatics. They called themselves ‘The Children of Gospel’, and dressed all in white with black ties. Gospel himself was not totally unaware of the phenomenon, but had chosen to ignore it as it seemed benign.

Each month, in Big City Park, thousands gathered to meet and discuss the latest rumors and sightings of their deity. It was often a place for people with not much else to do to come and connect and find community. They rallied peacefully and spread the good word of Gospel’s many miracles.

The Children of Gospel became a more and more prominent force in the city. Traffic jams were caused by the white-clad righteous recruiting drivers unlucky enough to have had their window down.

“Gospel will be at our next meeting. He told us! You should come!” The overexcited woman handed the driver a pamphlet and held a smile that was much too wide. Gospel made no such claim, but that rumor spread quickly, and the thousands prepared to come to the meeting multiplied tenfold.

On the day of the meeting, in the park, so many people gathered that they bled out into the street. The rally was no longer a peaceful one. Those believing themselves more devoted were hostile towards those of a more casual fandom. Original members held a firm authority over the group, though it was wildly out of control. 

One civilian on the street gave the entire group something to unite over. He shouted from across the way, “Children is right!”

The simple, silly comment sparked mayhem in the blink of an eye. Many thousands of people charged across the street towards the man, many of which having no idea why. They reached the man and started to attack mercilessly. He whimpered on the ground until he fell silent. The mob didn’t stop. Those who were less aware believed they were going after non-believers. Down the street, they swarmed civilians and beat them to death.

Silence now fell on The Children themselves. Gospel shone above the park and the cloudy sky was filled with fading light. “He’s here!”, “It’s him!” “Gospel!!” These whispers filled the area until everyone realized their savior was not pleased.

“WICKED FOOLS.”

Reality rattled and infinite voices rang out in everyone’s minds. Gospel lifted the bodies of the five deceased with a motion of his staff and flew them to his side. His eyes, robes and orb began to take on a blackness which slowly grew.

“YOUR SINS WILL UNDO YOU.”

The bodies melted into purity, countless shards of light, spreading across the park slowly. Gospel moved his hand, launching the light of the first body towards the crowd, who began to run, screaming.

In the emptiness formed by the evacuation, the Sun God, Zol, stood tall, a staff similar to Gospel’s in hand. As the shards neared those near him, he flashed his staff and absorbed the light.

“No.” Zol commanded in every language, running forward and transforming into the golden bird of legend. He flew at a stunned Gospel, knocking the darkness into remission and carrying him away from the dispersing fanatics. As the two soared out of the city, they battled with their powers of light in the air.

Gospel teleported to the ground below and awaited Zol, who transformed back into a man.

“They are human, Gospel. You must guide them past their errors. They want you to lead them.”

“I cannot lead them. I’ve not grown from when I was human. In both lives, I fostered a flock of sin and weakness.”

“A shepherd would not cull his flock.” Zol gave Gospel a stern eye. “Your intentions are pure. Let them witness.” Zol stepped close to Gospel, who remained steady. He peeked into his eyes as if looking through a window. “That Darkness. That was not you. That, you should not foster.” Zol disappeared in a flash of sunlight.

Gospel phased back out of reality and into his vacuous white dimension between, standing ready to intervene wherever needed. He considered Zol’s warning, but constantly felt the darkness move within. Zol was wrong… it was him.

 

Charles Masters, a wealthy and high-powered man in Big City, flashed all the lights in the city off and back on ten times. This was the only way to get Duperman’s attention. Nine times, he ain’t coming. In the Cloud Corridor, where all the skyscrapers connected at their penthouses, Charles stood in a shimmering gray suit, smiling genuinely at the fast arrival of Duperman.

“Hello, Charles…” Duperman bowed politely at his host, “...hello Big City.” he bowed cordially at the 360 view of the metropolis. “What’s going on?” He asked curiously, clearly ready for anything.

“D, first of all, thank you for getting here so quickly.”

“Mmhmm.” Duperman nodded.

“The reason you are here, as I’m sure you’re aware, is to solve a bigger problem than I can myself.”

“Oooh.”

“There are beings gathering above the Earth who call themselves gods. In reality, I’m told they are the Imagine Dragons of their galaxy.”

“Ouch.”

“I need you to-” Charles was cut off by Duperman’s exit through the skylight.

Duperman returned with a purple head of an octopus-looking alien. He smirked at Charles, “Problem solved?”

“Uh, no, no, not solved. I don’t know what that is. Where’d you find that thing?”

“Oh no.” Duperman again exited through the skylight. He returned and showed Charles his phone, which had on it an image of the head of the alien poorly stuck back on and Duperman giving a thumbs up with an arm around it.

Charles stared at the hero for a moment and then resumed his explanation. “I’m not asking you to kill anyone. I have no way of communicating with them. Please, go up and reason with them. They’ve been seen readying some sort of global attack.”

“I’m great at communicating. After hair-care, I’d say it’s my top skill.”

“Yes, yes. Please, go.” Charles sighed.

Duperman sped out of the skylight and into the cosmos, searching for the ‘gathering’ Charles spoke of. As he flew, he remembered the destruction of his planet and his exacting vengeance. It haunted him ever since.

A ship in the distance was surrounded by silver humanoid beings, all standing very stiff, their bodies all oriented differently. Some stood with their feet on the bottom of the small ship, some stood sideways on the wall and some straight up and down. Duperman approached them at a friendly pace, with both hands up to signal peace. He reached them and started to grab them by the shoulders and position them all to be upright. They shared confused looks with each other, but did not retaliate.

“Hello.” Duperman greeted the aliens. “Oh, sorry…” He remembered to speak in their language, something he often forgot to consider. “Hello.”

The aliens spoke by making different angles with their limbs and midsections, which Duperman enjoyed. “Hello, we are the last of the Nubo race. Is this your planet?” 

“Uhhhh, yes! What are you doing here?”

“So we’re here for all the humans.”

“Oh, good! Yeah, there’s so many. Are you going to give them like cures for diseases and advanced tech or something?”

“Sorry I wasn’t clear, we’re here to eat all the humans.”

“Ohhhhh.”

“Is that okay?”

“Listen, I was really considering just taking you all out when you just said that, but I was told to just reason with you.”

“We want to eat all the humans.”

“I don’t want you to.”

“We still want to.”

“Well, reasoning didn’t work.”

“Wait.” one of the aliens bent forward at a 90 degree angle. “Maybe you can talk to our leader.”

“Um, okay. Do they want to eat all the humans too?”

“Definitely.”

“Hmm. Okay.”

To the mothership all the aliens escorted Duperman. He was reminded of the Galactic Coalition ship he destroyed many years prior. The pain of that memory soured his mood, lowering this group’s chance of survival.

Duperman approached a slightly larger silver humanoid who was in a hole halfway in the floor of the ship. He picked up the big alien and set it down on the floor at the same level as him and stepped backwards.

“Twice now you guys are doing weird things.”

The larger silver alien - still much smaller than Duperman - bent in many directions to get a word across. “Hungry.”

“Hungry?” Duperman copied the motions, adding an extra hand flip for the question mark. “You cannot eat all the humans.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” He flipped his hand again.

“I can tell you’re very powerful. Why would I risk my life to eat all the humans when I could eat all the Lopians?” A hologram projected in the center of the room displaying a planet identical to Earth with a population counter in the billions.

“Fuck this.”

Duperman flew forward and grabbed the neck of the leader with one hand. He crumpled up the silver being and pressed it to his head like a beer can. From his forehead, a burst of light and energy exploded the being, leaving no trace of it.

The other Nubo in the room turned to flee, but their only method of movement was slow bending and straightening. Duperman held a hand out towards them and they flew towards him. He moved his hand and dodged them, allowing the speed of his telekinetic pull to squash them against the wall behind him, which also destroyed the ship’s power source.

Duperman exited the mothership and held it in one hand. He turned around a few times, searching for an empty path to launch it so that it wouldn’t crash anywhere. With a thrust, he released it into the void and descended back to Earth. A hidden survivor aboard screamed with quick, furious bending motion, “YOU’VE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF THE NUBO!”

“Did you reason with them?” Charles asked.

“Of course.”

“Good. Thanks, as always, D-man.” He thanked the hero, who went for a fist bump the moment Charles turned around. He played it off by flying fist forward out of the room.

Duperman started heading out of Big City when he heard screams and screeching. He checked a street where the noise was coming from and noticed a large purple creature rolling through the city. He knew something must have set Wumpus off. To the street he went to see if he could help calm her down.

Feeling fellowship with a couple heroes who were already on it, he got close and congratulated them, “Great job, team.”

Busy night. Officer Mike Nasty took a break between calls to grab a bite to eat. Mike made sure to let the cashier know he was watching his figure as he ordered a triple cheeseburger with large fries and a diet soda. In a vacant parking lot, he put a foot up on Sally to enjoy his food. Sauces and cheese dripped off the burger. If it was anyone else, they’d have a major stain situation.

Once he downed the whole meal, Mike left his bike to seek out a trash can, noticing there suspiciously weren’t any nearby. “Keep my spot warm, Sally, I can’t litter, it’s against my code.” He left behind, however, the wrapper for the burger. If Sally was truly sentient, she would have left that parking lot before being approached by a menacing robot.

Trashcannibal identified the motorcycle as a trash can due to the refuse left on top of it. It purposefully galloped forth and its lid, extending out the acid sac within.

“Stop right there, can-man. Sally, to me!” Mike commanded. Sally did not move. Neither did Trashcannibal. “You don’t want to do this.” 

Seeing TC’s sac nearly touching Sally’s tire, Officer Mike Nasty withdrew two pistols from his waist. He stood still and shot round after round directly at the robot. Each bullet bounced in a different direction, ricocheting off the advanced metal of Trashcannibal’s exterior.

“IT’S RETURNING FIRE!” Mike dove behind a bench. The bullets stopped whizzing by, so he stood to shoot again. Again, the bullets were deflected. “THIS SON OF A BITCH IS RELENTLESS!”

Trashcannibal’s attention had moved to Officer Mike Nasty, as it had a robust self-defense protocol. It sensed no threat, however, as the Officer used his cop-controlling brain to call for backup. In just moments, the street was full of cop cars. Men and women in blue stepped out of their vehicles and pointed weapons at the metal menace.

Ever the hero, Officer Mike Nasty thought it was a good opportunity to strike as Trashcannibal was analyzing the threat level. He backed up into the street and then ran forward to power slide beneath the bench he hid behind. It got TC’s attention. Mike assumed that the robot was entranced by his exotic dancing abilities, so he attempted another.

Officer Mike Nasty climbed up a street light and twirled around it erotically. He went upside down, though his hands were greasy from the meal. The move he’d done countless times in the club failed him on the street. Mike crashed into the pavement hard, knocking him unconscious immediately.

Trashcannibal slowly moved towards Officer Mike Nasty’s body. To defend their peer, cops began to run and try to take down the robot. The first officer went directly into TC’s mouth. The next one did the same. They watched each other go and get swallowed up, but continued to try. Mike began to regain consciousness to see his final colleague drop into the goo of Trashcannibal’s stomach.

“I’m going in. Sally, hold my guns.” Officer Mike Nasty threw all his guns at the motorcycle, collecting in a pile on the ground beside. He squirted baby oil all over his body, coating himself extra-thick for protection.

“HYAUGH.” Mike grunted as he leapt forward into Trashcannibal’s open hatch. The oil protected him for long enough for him to see all his fellow cops had perished. He climbed out, sustaining minor acid burns, but nothing too harmful.

Trashcannibal walked past Sally to see one of Mike’s guns knocked the burger wrapper off the bike and pinned it on the floor. It identified it instantly as a trash can. TC whipped its stomach at the gun and wrapper, dissolving both in its sac.

Officer Mike Nasty watched the robot at work. “We’re not so different, you and I.”

TC turned to see the bare chested cop. “Beep.”

“You’re on a mission... I’m on a mission.”

Ten minutes later, Mike and Trashcannibal danced in sync to thumping techno beats and classic hard rock on stage at the club for the next two hours to absolutely no audience.

Butters dragged a sack of flour to the corner of a table. He scratched it open and then stood right where it was piling up on the floor, waiting for the right moment for it to gather enough below him and then allowed himself to be buried in it with only his head sticking out. This was the most comfortable way for him to sleep, even if Bianca didn’t appreciate the lost flour.

As he closed his eyes, Butters watched the starry ball of yarn roll right into the bakery, passing through the wall. His eyelids went flat at the timing. He stood in a swift, decisive motion and leaned to each side. Flour poured off of his back, some of it forming little puffs and clouds that rolled through the bakery.

Butters approached the yarn and as usual, it began to roll away. He didn’t think much of it, or of anything for that matter, but were he not so nimble, the speed of the yarn would make it very easy to lose track of. He had no trouble. It did seem to wait on occasion, when it knew Butters was falling behind at all. It did so just outside of the bakery, awaiting the little cat to come through the kitty door.

Butters gingerly followed the yarn into the alley and over fences down to the next street. He was entranced by the yarn. It unraveled as it rolled, the thread left behind was only ethereal and faded quickly. A few blocks down, the yarn took a vertical turn. It climbed the wall of an apartment building.

Failing to climb the bricks or some pipes, ultimately, Butters needed to be able to reach the retracted fire escape ladder if he were to scale the building. He lost sight of the yarn at a window many stories up, watching the distant thread sparkle and wane. If he let it go without him, he knew he’d lose his opportunity, so he hastened his efforts.

With closed eyes, in his mind, Butters heard the voice of the bad man. “Butters! Butters! Butters!”

In a snap, little kitty Butters transformed into big boi Butters. A puff of flour that didn’t shake off earlier expanded outward in his shape and then dissipated. He leapt up to the fire escape a few levels up, just below where he saw the yarn enter the building. Even at his enormous size, he was gentle enough and fleet-footed enough to maintain stealthy upon the old and precarious fire escape.

Through the apartment window, Butters watched the yarn enter a bedroom. Luckily, the residents left the large, double balcony doors unlocked. He pawed at the handles a few times until they opened. On all fours, he squeezed through the opening and strutted softly through the living room as if he wasn’t a behemoth of a cat.

Butters sped up as he heard muffled whimpering through the door. He knocked down the bedroom door and found the sound was coming from the bed on the opposite wall. The astral yarn wrapped around the person laying there and then vanished.

Butters’ quickly stomped towards the bed. A pillow covered the entire top half of the mattress. He realized that it was being forced down onto the person by some invisible entity. He extended his claws and dug them deep into the pillow. A hiss came up from the bed. Butters yanked hard and launched the pillow across the room. The man beneath gasped for air so violently that he didn’t even notice Butters for a while.

The big cat stood in the room, making certain the man fully recovered. When he seemed okay, Butters left the room, ignoring a slew of questions from the rescued man. He noticed the pillow was gone from the entire apartment. Whilst stepping out from the apartment, he recalled the man having two regular sized pillows that were also not white like the large one he removed.

From the fire escape Butters jumped, falling all the way to the floor and landing on all fours as a precious little kitty. He strolled down the alleys to return to the bakery, where Bianca was likely having a fit and cleaning up his flour, wondering why he doesn’t just sleep in the many cat beds she bought for him. Butters would never accept charity.

Theorem perched stoically in a corner of Big City Park atop an egg three times his size. As the most successful egg-layer around, he was surrounded by others trying to follow his lead. None had the ability to lay eggs like Theorem, so they all admired his skill. Notoriety served him poorly however.

The notorious crime boss BD got word of Theorem’s hatches. As the son of a single mother, more than anything else, he wished to be a father. Alas, the world he resided in was not his own. The dinosaurs in this world were long gone, and though he had enough money to get one cloned from old DNA, he’d have to launder it all first. That, he didn’t have the time to do.

BD assumed that, because the eggs Theorem hatched were so large, there was a chance it could be a dinosaur. He figured that even if it was just something non-human growing within, he’d adopt it and become the father he yearned to be.

At midnight, Theorem awoke to the sound of rumbling and footsteps. A gang of henchmen formed a line and then split to allow the boss to pass through.

“The name’s Big Dino. You’ve got yourself in a bit of trouble, it seems.”

“Trouble?”

“You took my egg without permission.” Big Dino had heard of Theorem’s dimwittedness and used it to take advantage of the simpleton. “You see, I’m a massive dinosaur. And you’re a… medium-sized human. Dinosaurs come from eggs. This egg belongs to me.”

“Hmm. Dinosaurs come from eggs…” Theorem’s brain began to work on a theory that would solve this conflict. “...But you didn’t come from an egg.”

“I did.”

“I didn’t see it. That means you’re not a dinosaur.”

“Wha-” Big Dino furled his brow in frustration. He signaled for his men to seize the genius. “This guy’s dumber than we-”

Everyone paused for a moment as Big Dino seemed to be stunned. He began to fade away in front of everyone. After a few seconds, the henchmen all looked around and then fled the scene, leaving Theorem alone. His theory took the dinosaur from Big Dino, and a dinosaur was all he was.

“Where’d everyone go?” Theorem looked around and then shrugged, falling asleep shortly after.

In the morning, Theorem was awoken by a horde of reporters and policemen. Everyone shouted questions at him and the noise became too much. He shook his head and pointed at one reporter. The crowd grew silent as she asked her question.

“There were multiple reports that you took down BD right here without any violence! Could you please comment on what happened?”

“Hmm.” Theorem began to theorize, the crowd’s ears perked up awaiting the follow-up. “Time is like a spiral staircase and space is like a pendulum. As I climb, the pendulum swings. As I remain still, the pendulum remains still.”

Everyone’s faces scrunched as they contemplated for a moment possibly the most useless, ridiculous interpretation of anything they’d ever heard. It wasn’t just an interpretation anymore, however. Theorem’s words changed the fabric of reality. The egg beneath him turned to strips of space spiraling upwards along with everything around him. The entire universe was engraved on a spiral staircase, just as he theorized.

The great scientist and theorist looked around in awe of the void surrounding the staircase he stepped on. Each time he placed a bare foot down, it rippled like water onto all the pieces of the universe beneath his feet. As usual, he felt vindicated that his theory was correct, though he was not alone in observance.

“What did you do?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re here, so I’m guessing one of your theories did this.”

“Did what?”

“BROKE TIME… LOOK AROUND YOU. The universe is a staircase, you don’t see that and say ‘something’s off’?” the voice was given an appearance as a floating crustacean whizzed by Theorem. “Listen. I know you don’t think like everyone else. But you gotta keep your theories less universal.”

“How do I do that?”

“Stay away from the big three: time, space, and reality.”

“Okay.” Theorem’s mustache curled up as if he was smiling, happy to oblige. “So who are you? Why are you here?”

“I’m Shrimp Temporal. I’m usually the guy causing temporal disturbances.”

“You can call me Theorem. You’re my new friend.” Theorem proposed this theory, though it was already true.

“Not so new, Theorem.” Shrimp Temporal’s clock projected a montage of resets he had to do from Theorem’s more destructive theories. “This time, I’m worried. You didn’t just disrupt your world or your city. This is everything.” Shrimp Temporal floated to one stair of the staircase and began to tap it with all of his shrimp limbs. He continued, sounding completely stumped. “You’ve changed our universe’s time into something I cannot control.”

“You can control it.” Theorem replied. ST turned to him and smirked, having brought him exactly where he needed.

Shrimp Temporal’s freaky shrimp arms manipulated the stairs without issue. It unwound and the universe flowed backwards into position, everything back up to the moment Big Dino approached Theorem.

“This egg belongs to me.” Big Dino said menacingly. As the henchmen approached the egg, Theorem vanished, and the universe halted to Shrimp Temporal’s will.

Theorem floated outside of time beside Shrimp Temporal. He prepared to speak, but ST put a shrimp finger up to silence him.

“I need your help.”

Lunar Lightning stood on the far side of the moon, hands on his hips heroically. He stared off into space with a completely empty mind. Days passed, weeks passed, months passed. He didn’t move an inch. Occasionally, a thought would start to form, but he’d swat it away to remain concentrated. CK would strike again, LL felt it. Alice wouldn’t be safe until he got what he wanted, her mother.

Back in Big City, Alice had packed up her belongings and moved in with a good friend.

“You can stay here as long as you like. You know I’m barely ever home. This is your house too, now. Truly.”

“That’s very nice, Mundo, thank you.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Hope so.”

Mundo assured her she’d be fine and drove off, he was due for a long season of soccer overseas. Alice toured the mansion which was given to Mundo by the Big City Footies as a welcome gift when he joined the team. She actually got lost walking the halls. The rooms all looked the same and there were many turns that led into kitchens or larger areas.

To get to her room, Alice went out to the balcony and took the stairs down. She looked at the back patio of the ultra-modern home and admired the soccer fields, pools, tennis and basketball courts. A tall, thick hedge surrounded the home, opening only in the front walkway. She felt safe seeing that there was no other way in and plenty of security at the entrance.

As Alice turned her head to look towards the main patio door, her heart sank. C.K. stood with a devilish smile behind the tinted glass. His body flashed and smashed through the large glass wall, though this time, he failed to grab her.

Alice dove away and pressed play on her phone, which she had at the ready since their first encounter. C.K. was a statue, still smiling, but not unaffected by his missed grab. His arm stayed out, his hand in a choking position for just a moment before flashing again. Alice rolled to dodge another grab. Then, one of her mother’s lullabies began on her phone.

“You, my love,

You can do it all.

Remember you’re

my perfect doll.”

The lullaby always seemed strange to Alice. Her mother had recorded so many for her, but this one was one of the especially odd ones. It became apparent why she did as C.K. landed his first hit on Alice, who laid on her back still after rolling.

With a loud thud and a crack in the concrete below Alice, her chest was punched with brutal force. C.K. smiled villainously and held his fist there to see the pain in her face and to hear her scream. Instead of pain on her face, she was completely indifferent. And she didn’t scream. What C.K. heard as a result of his punch was ‘SQUEAK’.

Alice was a doll, her body too soft to damage. C.K. flashed around, throwing and slamming her, but she couldn’t feel a thing. He grew frustrated and let out a scream. Way above them, in the sky, Lunar Lightning should have been flying by. But he was being detained.

“Hold on there.” said a miniscule, crater-pocked moon rock with a big moon rock mustache, the chief of the coalition of bureaucratic moon-mites as he adorably climbed the swarm of tiny moon pebbles that gripped Lunar Lightning’s legs while he tried to fly away.

“I have to go.”

“Did you fill out the necessary paperwork?”

“There is no paperwork.”

The moon-mite chief checked a box and sighed. “Gonna be a long one, team.”

All the other moon mites copied the exact sigh the chief did.

“I’ll do the paperwork when I return.”

“We won’t need it when you return.”

“You don’t need it at all.”

The chief checked another box and sighed in harmony with his team.

“Okay give me the papers.”

“Oh so now there’s papers. Hah.” the stone whipped out a stack of paper from somewhere that was taller than Lunar Lightning.
“This is too much. I MUST GO.” he strained to escape the grasp of the millions of moon-mites holding onto him.

“Too much!? You only have to sign one page.”

“Which page?”

“One of these.” the chief motioned at the stack of paper.

“This isn’t working.”

Lunar Lightning regrettably began to pulsate with black energy. The cute little moon-mites began to let out tiny cries and turn to dust. The chief ran as fast as he could, but was caught as LL’s aura grew. As he flew down to Earth, they all reformed on the surface of the moon.

Alice was beginning to lose the effects of her mother’s lullaby. She began to feel every hit C.K. landed, though not fully.

“You’re beginning to feel more… breakable.”

“Break this!” Alice slammed her phone against the side of C.K.’s thick skull. She had no choice but to forfeit the recordings of her mother’s power so soon after realizing them. It stunned him for a moment and she ran towards the soccer fields to get away.

“Smart not to go back into this little shack. You’d only be trapping yourself in there.” C.K. said, insulting Mundo’s mansion.

The suited villain flashed towards Alice quickly as she ran, but was stopped just before reaching her. Lunar Lightning descended to float directly in front of him. In a moment, he sent projections of himself left and right, which surrounded C.K., their capes all coming together to form a full moon.

Alice was left baffled as C.K. was transported to Lunar Lightning’s home. On the far side of the moon, he flashed at the hero. Each flash, however, was another moment of breath needed. When still, he’d be impervious to the lack of air.

“I implore you to stop this hunt.” Lunar Lightning pleaded.

“Where is Lullaby? You are clearly one of her creations, you must know her whereabouts.”

“Her creations?”

“Ugh don’t tell me you’re not just playing a fool.” C.K. realized he wasn’t. “That girl’s mother can create or alter anything, with just words.”

“She didn’t create me.”

“Then explain how you came to be.”

“What do you mean? I’m from the moon. I’m Lunar Lightning.”

“Look around. Desolation. Nothing is from here.”

“I am.”

“Believe what you will. Help me locate Lullaby and find out the truth yourself.”

Lunar Lightning transported them back to Mundo’s house. Alice stood near the back door, cautious and scared as Lunar Lightning requested her help.

“We need to find your mother.”

“We go fight Beemon now?”

“Agh, not just yet big guy. Dracula’s out there. I got a sense about it.” Tombs reminded TUM about the target of their current mission. Then he turned to Dracula’s Dog as they walked down a dirt road, “You’d like that, huh?”

Dracula’s Dog grumbled softly, floating with one of TUM’s drumsticks held in his mouth proudly. He was frustrated at their progress. Months had gone by and several countries explored where Tombs had leads on the vampire king. Dracula’s Dog knew he couldn’t find Dracula alone, yet still felt held back by his companions who were bound to the ground. He then wondered whether that was even the case. 

“WOOF!” Dracula’s Dog handed TUM his drumstick, walked ahead and turned around to face T & T. “WOOF WOOF WOOF.”

“Chatty.” Tombs laughed dryly.

“What you want?” TUM asked, being the primary target of the barking.

Dracula’s Dog flew up and down quickly, then landed and walked slowly to demonstrate how sluggish their pace was as a unit. He flew so far in a few seconds that T & T couldn’t see him past the horizon. Then he returned in the next few seconds with blood on his fangs.

“I see.” Tombs translated for TUM. “He thinks we’re slow… and that you’re clumsy.”

“Clumsy!?” TUM readied a drumstick at his belly.

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Tombs put on a sincere face and continued to jest. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

“Ergh.” TUM grunted and calmed down, realizing Tombs was kidding.

Dracula’s Dog kept barking, urging the two to figure out quicker transportation.

“Next stop is Big City. Good shot we find him there. Let’s do this TUM…” Tombs approached TUM and waved his mace. His body became a black dust that flew into the giant’s mouth and his eyes opened wide and flooded with black.

TUM opened his mouth and a screaming, screeching disembodied Tombs shouted from it. “Point your belly at the ground, big guy.”

Even Dracula’s Dog was a little scared by the voice. He wondered if Tombs could have given instructions beforehand to avoid it. TUM positioned his body so that his drum faced downwards.

Again, Tombs’ voice emerged in the most unsettling way possible. “Turn just a smidge left, and have at it.”

TUM did so, and the blast from his drum shot him so far he couldn’t see the ground anymore. He passed through clouds and looked straight into the upper atmosphere. As he began to descend, he saw the ocean beneath him, and land nowhere around. Dracula’s Dog caught up with ease and followed behind, but had to dodge a shockwave as TUM struck the drum once more.

After a few beats of the drum, Big City came into view. The famous heights of the Cloud Corridor were at Tumbo’s level as he passed by, heading into the suburbs on Tombs’ order. A tap of the drum allowed for a soft landing outside a middle class neighborhood. Dracula’s Dog landed beside and Tombs reformed outside of TUM’s body calmly.

“Never again.” demanded TUM.

“You think I wanna be inside you?” Tombs said, then pointed at Dracula’s Dog, smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Not my fault our friend here’s a freak.”

Dracula’s Dog had a sense that something was nearby. He was confident it was his master, his tail began to wag excitedly.

“Yeah, I feel it too. Relax a beat, this don’t feel right.” Tomb’s said, examining the area as they strolled.

On their journey, towns and suburbs usually would react to the sight of the trio. TUM was the main source of attention. Typically, people would grab their children and run inside, locking their doors and covering their windows, peeking through the peephole or uncovered sections of the windows where they felt they wouldn’t be seen.

In this neighborhood, people weren’t just not reacting negatively. They weren’t reacting at all. Everyone around was just staring at the wanderers. Parents and children stood as if they were playing outside, but they acted as if they weren’t even alive.

Then, Dracula’s Dog noticed something. On each person’s neck were two puncture wounds… bite marks. He knew with absolute certainty then that they were in the right place.

People began to walk towards the trio as they approached the last house on the street. It was just like all the others, though they knew it belonged to the one they sought. Dracula’s Dog flew between two neighbors that were closing in, leaving Tombs and TUM to fend for themselves as the carnage began.

Duperman kept watch over Big City in his leisure time, taking out any and all threats as soon as he became aware. A darkness, however, had spawned. It was not evil alone, but hatred and spite which he could sense lurking. Before dealing with that, he found a quest to keep himself totally occupied. His target? The Mhuong Calzone.

“Said to be the most flavorful pocket in the culinary universe, the Mhuong Calzone is an elusive treat. Chefs are discouraged from ever attempting to create one, as those who do are often kidnapped to be enslaved personal chefs. Within the buttery walls of this delight exist a combination of ingredients so rare and divine that only one can be crafted each year. Pepperoni medallions line the inner walls while thick-cut, julienned pepperoni fortifies the center. That’s right. Double pep. It’s served at a temperature that is sustained for the entire eating, a temperature that scientists have trouble replicating in a lab. The Mhuong Calzone is garnished with herbs cut so fine that the light bouncing off of your eyes as you gaze upon them causes them to disintegrate. It’s meant to be eaten with eyes and ears covered so that all you experience are the smell, feeling and wondrous taste of the single most enticing delight ever put together in a kitchen.”

“Okay.” a man in his underwear replied. “I was just asking why you were in my house.”

“Whoops.”

Duperman flew out the window after coming to the conclusion it wasn’t the home of restauranter and sole living witness to the Mhuong Calzone, Gabby Mitts.

 

Meets Chop gets his calzone.

Dracula’s Dog flew out of sight, hidden behind the horde of vampiric suburbanites. Tumbo didn’t care to spare a life, and Tombs seemed all but eager to dispatch as many of them as he could. As the brawl began, it was apparent that these were no simple vamps. These were Thralls. They were familiar, having traveled with Dracula’s Dog. Whenever needed, he often would create powerful Thralls to get the trio food by any means necessary. The transformation was drastic; their muscles grew larger and their intellect skyrocketed. Once the group was fed,  he’d release them back to human life. But he was only ever able to turn one at a time to be a Thrall. This many attacking T&T was a true showcase of Dracula’s limitless ability.

Tombs’ approach to combat was intriguing to Tumbo. Where Tumbo pounded his drum and blasted multiple vampires into the distance before they got near, Tombs waited for them to get incredibly close before doing anything at all. A large woman in a pantsuit reared back and bared her teeth. Just before chomping down on Tombs’ neck, he wiggled his mace. Matching the rate of motion he had, her body wiggled. All the Thralls around stood back as they saw her torso and neck expanding quickly. Tombs stepped toward her and delivered a solid kick to the stomach. From her mouth, ears, eyes and nose erupted black dust that reeked of death. Tumbo chuckled to himself, still battering his own stomach with his drumsticks.

Whilst his travel-mates were battling, Dracula’s Dog excitedly approached the house of his master. The sky had turned an unnatural black the moment he got near. The architecture of the home shifted, as if he stepped into a different realm. It was reminiscent of the castle they once shared, but slightly modernized. He could see through the window that the interior was pretty mundane. There was a living room with a tv and a couch, nothing special. He shrugged it off and flew up to ring the doorbell.

For a moment there was no reply. Dracula’s Dog again flew up to the doorbell, but before he rang, the door opened.

“I’ll be right back, Timmy.” Dracula stepped out in a polo shirt and blue jeans. Dracula’s Dog’s tail began to wag violently and he flew to greet his master. “Ugh.” Dracula turned away in reply. “What are you doing here?”

“WOOF!” Dracula’s Dog answered, still filled with joy.

“Go back to your home. You don’t belong here.”

A loud blast from Tumbo’s drum hit a protective barrier around Dracula’s home, distracting them both. The sound caught the attention of someone inside. Dracula’s Dog watched as a golden retriever came outside and brushed up against Dracula, receiving a gracious pet from its owner. Dracula’s Dog was appalled. He looked inside and saw a child playing on the floor of the living room and angrily said in his mind, “Timmy.”

“WOOF!” Dracula’s Dog barked.

“You were never my dog. You were my mistake.” Dracula replied, walking inside and slamming the door behind him.

Dracula’s Dog stood in shock on the porch, numb to the madness taking place in the street.

Tumbo grew tired, his arms still slamming the drum, but looking for an easier way to remove chunks of thralls at once. He stopped hitting the drum, held one of the drumsticks close to his stomach and fell backward onto the floor. Then, he let a pile of vampires accumulate. Once he was satisfied with the quantity, he tapped the drum with the skulls. A few vampires on the top of the pile were sent flying. What he was most proud of were the ones at the bottom being pressed into the others, literally squishing them all into one grotesque mass of thrall flesh.

Tombs grinned watching his big buddy pull that off. “Mind if I use that?” He asked Tumbo, pointing up at the ball of dead vampires. Tumbo shrugged to indicate he didn’t mind. He didn’t really know what Tombs’ plan was.

With his mace, Tombs exploded the ball of death, sending chunks of meat all around, pelting vampires with pieces of their own brethren. The crescendo, however, was the second part. He waved his mace again, commanding the corpses to reform. Every single body part flew at impossible speed to rejoin the rest. Tumbo watched as one of the male vampires removed a big chunk of meat from in front of his eyes just to have a set of legs plow through its brain and connect with the chunk.

Tumbo started laughing uncontrollably, loving the devastation. Tombs looked around to see that if any Thralls remained, they weren’t coming to fight. Then he saw his little buddy.

“Tumbo, look.” he called to the giant.

They walked towards Dracula’s House, kicking aside bodies. They both noticed the house transform and the sky darken. Then they looked in the window and saw Dracula playing with his new dog and his son and realized why Dracula’s Dog was slumped there. Tombs whispered something into Dracula’s Dog’s ear and then stood in front of the entry.

“I got it.” Tombs assured. He rang the doorbell and knocked on the door, which swung open immediately.

“WHAT?” Dracula shouted.

“Hold on.” Tombs looked back at his crew. “This is one of the most powerful beings in the world?”

“Of course I am.” Dracula stated unconvincingly.

“I think I saw you in an Old Navy commercial.” Tombs messed with immortal evil. “We got the wrong guy, team. Sorry to bother you, sir.”

“I see.” Dracula grew bitter. “You’re with IT.” he pointed at DD. “That makes you all mutts. Go before I call animal control.”

“Is this animal control?” Tumbo stepped aside and pointed out the thousands of bodies on the street. Dracula got upset and turned to go inside.

“You know, even though you’re clearly not the right guy, I guess this trip wasn’t a total loss.” Tombs said.

“How so?”

“We came for a powerful vampire, we’re leaving with a powerful vampire.”

Dracula’s Dog brushed past Dracula’s legs, coming outside.

“Wait.”

Timmy followed, bite marks in his neck, massive muscles for a 10 year old. “Bye, Dad!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, we’ll be taking him.” Tombs informed Dracula, who, even with the extremely pale skin, lost all his color at that moment.

Dracula’s Dog led the group away from the home, his tail wagging happily. Tombs and Tumbo walked behind, smiling. Timmy was way behind, searching for bones for Dracula’s Dog to play with, as was his command.

 

Seven Seas vanished without a trace, swallowed by the ocean he was once to be the captain of, his hat resting on the head of his furry companion, his ship beneath her. EmBark recalled the years together, searching for the very hat that allowed her to sail the world. There was no way she would leave him without his power. She searched on the water everywhere for him before realizing that he may very well be on land, living a new life away from the ocean. As this thought struck her, she headed to the port he rescued her from, inside Big City’s bustling bay.

The dog captain approached gradually, various massive ships yielding to her, respecting her ability to command the ship whilst having paws. When she stopped to dock, she was approached by the captain of another vessel, a frail old man with a long white beard similar to hers.

“'Yer’ hat…. I knew it once.”

EmBark turned her head adorably to listen.

“Everyone knew it.” He hobbled over to lean on the railing. “Seven Seas, eh?”

EmBark barked in an enthusiastic response and the ship underneath her rose with the ocean below, called by her.

“I heard speak that he’d been spotted far north. Heard he wasn’t what he used to be.” He drew an ‘X’ on a map and put it between the pup’s teeth. “Try here. If he’s what yer’ after.”

EmBark nodded gratefully and quickly took to the ocean. The old man hobbled back to his own boat, stroking his beard as if he didn’t just have a conversation with a dog.

The water expedited EmBark’s journey north. A wild current provided rapid passage across the globe to where the map indicated. Weather cleared in her path, an unusual occurrence in her experience. It was as if the ocean shared in her excitement to reunite.

Close to the harbor, she carved through ice on the surface of the water and breathed in crisp, dry air. Her nose picked up the scent of Seven Seas. Her ship rose from the sea, water and ice beneath her as she followed the familiar smell. People working on the docks took their hats off and stared as the boat sailed above the ocean.

To her dismay, EmBark found a small, decommissioned dinghy resting off to the side of the harbor. She couldn’t imagine Seven Seas would captain such a poorly kept boat. She hopped off her ship onto the shore, causing it to crash down into the water. Inside the dinghy, she overcame the smell of spoiled crab and noticed a picture inside. Seven Seas faced away from the camera, but there was another man with him. She hurriedly ran out and brought it to one of the dockworkers.

“Him, yeah. We kept in touch a little. He’s retired now, living in Big City. Name’s Damon. I got his number, but not much good that’ll do a dog. Good luck.” He pet EmBark’s head and resumed his work.

EmBark summoned her ship to the dock where she stood and boarded, thrilled to have a lead. Back to Big City she rushed.

The ocean again supported her quest and she was back in no time. EmBark knew that she’d never get anywhere on foot, so instead of docking at the harbor, she rode the wind. The boat lifted from the water and sailed the sky. Seven Seas had done so many times with her aboard, but it was her first time. She struggled to maintain forward motion, controlling the ship entirely with her mind; it was much more important for her to use her focus to keep it afloat. It felt unnatural, however. She and the boat both longed to return to the water.

In the distance, fate flagged EmBark down. A trail of ice formed and fell as a figure slid on it. Another figure flew beside. She focused her energy on speeding up to catch up. Soon, she met where the trail dissipated and her ship, of its own will, gravitated towards it, using it like the ocean. Her speed increased tenfold and soon she was right behind the pair.

All of a sudden, the ship halted in midair, as did the figure on the ice. The man flying, however, was moving freely, and began to inspect the EmBark’s boat. She looked down and saw that not only were her and the ice man stalled, the entire city was.

“What is this.” the red and white clad hero asked, allowing slow motion as a light on his arm turned from red to yellow.

“Woooooof.” EmBark tried to reply, grabbing the picture and presenting it to him.

“Oh. Thought you were here for me.” he turned his light green and instantly everything was moving forward again. “Damon, this is for you. Dog, this is Daddy Chill. He’s your man. I’ll go on ahead, catch you another time.”

“HardStop, wait up.” DC shouted at the stop sign man. HardStop did not wait up.

Daddy Chill looked back and saw the picture. The two of them relocated to a nearby rooftop to talk.

“You’re looking for me?”

EmBark shook her head in reply.

“You’re looking for Silas then. Why?”

EmBark pointed her head up to point to the hat. She then showed him the picture of Seven Seas in his full glory wearing his captain’s hat.

“I see. Always knew there was more to old Silas. Lucky for you, I know exactly where to look for him. I’ll have to let the family know I’m going on a trip.” DC said, pulling out his phone to send the text. “Let’s go find your captain.”

 

Above Big City, EmBark sailed on a trail of ice conjured by Daddy Chill, heading back toward the ocean to locate Seven Seas, Captain of the Ocean. If the civilians below weren’t used to that kind of thing, it may have caused a panic. It was difficult not to move slowly with such a method, so people did watch for a bit as they walked by. Nothing too interesting for the likes of Big City, however.

They plopped into the ocean just past the harbor and sailed on, Daddy Chill explaining his confidence in their destination. EmBark sat listening with her tongue hanging out, picturing her captain as DC spoke.

“Silas wasn’t fulfilled as a crabber. He said of all the battles that could happen on the ocean, we chose the most one-sided. From that picture you have, I can see why he’d say that. He actually looks formidable there. The Silas I knew could have been blown over by a gentle breeze.”

EmBark wagged and wiggled, awaiting the continuation.

“Before we capsized… before I was able to do what I can do now, he mentioned a hidden archipelago halfway across the world. He talked about it like it sounded like heaven to him. Said that he heard all the sea creatures there evolved differently. That the ocean was angry, mountainous as any area of land could be. I always thought he was just an old dreamer, but he gave me a decent idea of where he believed this place to be. You’ve searched for him everywhere that you know of, so if he’s not there, he’s not anywhere.”

EmBark’s face grew determined and she stood on the edge of the ship, her beard flying backwards as they sped across the ocean. Water was choppy and slowed their passage down significantly. DC conjured some true ice into EmBark’s bowl in the wheelhouse, providing her endless dripping water. She no longer had to scavenge for fresh water on her travels, she laid against his leg when he stood and slept against his back when he slept. They quickly became good friends as they travelled the world together.

Far from any shore, EmBark and Daddy Chill awoke to thunder. They rocked wildly from mounting waves. There was no storm overhead, however. As they continued onward, they crossed over into a strange area of the ocean. Water below them was many different colors, all flowing into and out of each other. Instead of the usual blue sky, it was a fiery red, orange and yellow swirl. It was also completely silent where they were. At first.

“OH HEY THERE’S A COUPLE NEW GUYS HERE.” An irritating voice announced, seeming to come out of the air itself, which now felt lighter.

“Are you talking to us?” DC shouted back into the sky, looking around for a source.

“OOPS, DIDN’T THINK THEY’D HEAR ME.”

“Guess not.” He looked down at EmBark and shrugged. She was still looking around, jumping up with her front paws on the edge of the ship to check over every side.

They followed a path of calm water between mountainous waves. Shallow waters were just past the worst of the ocean. They stopped near a sandbar to have a look around and determine next steps, as the map had become useful. Maps were no longer of use. None of the islands around were charted. DC suddenly hopped out of the ship to walk on clear crystal sand, water up to his knees. He froze a block of ice a few feet ahead, which began to float and he brought it to the ship.

“We must be close.” he commanded the cloudy ice to melt and from it emerged a crab the size of a car. It lunged at EmBark quickly, revealing that it’s claws had sawblades embedded in the shell. EmBark fearlessly barked to intimidate it, standing her ground. It disregarded her show and pressed on. Daddy Chill sat on the edge of the ship calmly and just before it reached the pup, he flash-froze it. A thick buildup of ice connecting it to the floor from the direction DC shot it prevented the crab from moving. 

“YOU SEE THAT!!? THIS GUY DOES ICE THINGS!” the disembodied voice said, raspy and excited.

EmBark sat back down and looked happily at her friend, believing this to have been the only threat. Proving her wrong was a creature neither of them had encountered before. Charging up from under the sand, a massive drill-horned rhinoceros with the lower body of a whale crashed through the ship’s dead center. It carried with it a tidal wave, heading straight for the boat.

Daddy Chill quickly reacted, shooting ice at the break in the boat to hold it together. He successfully built an ice bridge between the broken halves. EmBark launched a harpoon from the side of the ship and nailed the Rhinomaid in the stomach, leaving a rope attached. It charged forward beneath the sand, dragging the ship along with it. As it inadvertently helped them evade the coming wave, Daddy Chill focused on pulling the halves of the ship back together.

“CAN WE HELP THEM?”

“That would be great.” Daddy Chill responded, though the voice wasn’t asking him.

“OOPS… THEY HEARD ME AGAIN.”

“Ugh.”

As the beast moved, the wave began to grow below the ship. EmBark took a moment as the ship’s halves touched back together and focused on joining them. A loud SNAP, and the boat was one again. She barked at Daddy Chill, thanking him for his help. Another bark signaled time to cut the rope.

A blade of ice detached the rope from the Rhinomaid. They watched from above, riding the wave, as the beast drilled on, going deeper, becoming shadow as it dove deep into the translucent, crystalline sand. Once the seas calmed, the pair was thrilled to see in the distance a tower. It wasn’t of stone or wood, but of the remains of all manner of sea creatures. At the very top, it appeared to have a throne built of massive helms from many different ships. It had at the top a hammock made of sails.

EmBark knew right away that this was made by Seven Seas. She excitedly sailed towards it, commanding the ocean below to rise.

A loud whistling sound filled the air. Daddy Chill leapt towards his new friend to defend her from a flying object, shielding himself with ice to protect them both. The object struck the ice, cracking it and sticking out of it. It was the jagged shell of a turtle, knives pointing from all of its peaks. DC dropped his ice to inspect the shell, but more whistles began. EmBark lifted the ship higher to dodge anything incoming and to see where they were being thrown from.

Behind the tower, a wild, giant man grabbed the shells from the tower itself, having no fear of it falling apart. EmBark wagged and barked. It was Seven Seas. He was changed, but it was him.

Daddy Chill looked at her barking and was instantly impaled in his shoulder by one of the shells. He turned back around, pulled up his socks and covered the shell in ice. As he launched it back at the mad man, he felt pain on his calf, his pure white sock began to fill with red. He looked back bewildered, as his little friend, the captain of the ship, EmBark, moved to bite him again.

“WOAH.”

 

After parting ways with Daddy Chill, HardStop flew around the city, trying to catch any trace of the Dupe they had been chasing together. It moved too far out of sight for his effective stopping radius and when they were interrupted by EmBark, they lost it altogether. HardStop cataloged the image of it; when it passed by, it appeared to be a disco cube, he recalled, not knowing exactly what he meant by it. He returned to civilian life in the morning, wearing a long sleeve, tight fitting shirt that barely hid his stoplights and stop sign.

Kids in Henry’s crosswalk were talking about some appearance that Wumpus had on TV. She certainly had a way of holding the spotlight. Henry listened in on what they were saying out of curiosity.

“I’d wanna be Wumpus over any of the other heroes!!”

“Even HardStop???”

“HardStop’s ooooold. I don’t even think Wumpus ages!”

“WHOAAAAAA.” all the children were enamored with the purple monster.

Henry was a proud man, and hearing them pick a hero he knew personally as a legit psycho over him didn’t hurt his feelings. Calling him old did. It wasn’t because it was true - it wasn’t. HardStop’s powers prevented his cells from aging. He would forever be a 39 year old man, celebrating a lonely 40th birthday year after year. Why it hurt was that he knew himself to be a failure. Despite becoming a world-famous hero, saving many lives and even the world multiple times, HardStop’s original mission hadn’t progressed at all.

Henry felt deep in his core that the speedster that once threatened innocent walk-crossers still roamed the Earth, putting in danger anyone who wished to cross a walk. He thought of his daughter, Bianca, as well and how he wanted to bring in his mysterious nemesis in her honor. As the crossing guard shift ended, Henry found a replacement for himself and dedicated himself to the hunt.

At the library, Henry had five computers running searches for reports of recent speedsters. A librarian walked over after people complained all the computers were taken.

“You know, you can do that quicker on your phone.” the sarcastic young man said, his nametag read ‘Trevor’.

“You think it would be faster for me to call people than it would be to use your computers?” Henry raised an eyebrow.

The young man sighed. “You don’t have to call anyone. Everything you’re doing on the computer can be done on your phone.”

“Show me.”

Trevor took the phone and copied Henry’s search into the search engine. “Look.”

Henry grinned as he read through a slew of reports just north of Big City. “How would you like to be a sidekick, Trevor?”

“I work here at the library.”

“Good to know. Be ready when I call on you.” Henry hurried out of the building and stopped time outside so he could change into HardStop. Flying over the city, he heard screeching tires directly below.

HardStop paused all motion at the noisy intersection, which fell silent in his time halt. He hurried to relocate any of the cars that were near smashing into each other, lifting them with ease and dropping them gently. One of the drivers had run a red light and was visibly inebriated, so HardStop slapped him a couple times and left him on the hood of his car with his arms and legs hogtied with his own shirt to await the police. He allowed time to flow again and watched angry people scold the drunkard.

Above the city once again, HardStop heard sirens in the direction he headed. He descended near the procession of first responders and saw ahead of them a streak of light in the street. It moved back and forth in a small area. A cop car moved too close and was crashed into by the insane motion. The streak was unaffected, but the car was tossed with great force. HardStop knew it to be his speedster. He took a moment to freeze the cop car and bring it to the ground safely.

HardStop looked to his nemesis who was having some sort of crisis, digging itself into the ground as it ran back and forth in the middle of the street. He realized everything around him was frozen, except the speedster. It didn’t slow at all. HardStop took off his glasses and stared in awe as he realized he gained all this power just to still be powerless. He began to panic, feeling as though all the good he did was pointless if he couldn’t stop his only nemesis. His frustration and anger brightened the light on his arm. It glowed a red he’d never seen before, sharper as well.

The world around HardStop gained a certain pixelated quality, as if he’d not just frozen the matter around him, but the inner workings of reality as well. He looked at his hands and they had the same quality as well. To his chagrin, the speedster still moved. HardStop was relieved that it was not at full speed, but it was still quick. He saw the person in the streak of light. It was a woman in a mask whose face bore distress. As the light on his arm faded, as if unable to maintain such a hold, the speedster mouthed something to HardStop, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

“HELP.”

Time resumed normally and HardStop stayed flying there, confused. The military surrounding the speedster deployed a mobile facility around it, which dug into the ground and expanded a floor below. It worked perfectly. Within a metal cage, the speedster bounced from wall to wall and was hauled away by helicopter. HardStop took a moment and then left the scene, now unsure of his only mission.

The clock struck midnight when HardStop finally returned to the library. He had research to do. Who was the speedster? Why did she need help? How could he help if he wanted to? In the library parking lot, hidden between two cars, Trevor emerged.

“You waited here?” HardStop asked.

“You told me to be ready.”

“That’s very odd… but it’s good that you’re here. We have work to do.” HardStop raised an eyebrow. “Wait, how did you know it was me?”

“You wore those exact glasses earlier… You’re like 7 feet tall… You have stop lights on your arm and a stop sign torso… What do you mean?”

“Perceptive. That’s a good sign.” HardStop handed him his phone to get to work. “Maybe you’ll be a good fit.”

Anger flooded Daddy Chill as he realized EmBark was his attacker. She acted to defend her master, the mad-man launching bladed shells as the pair. DC looked down at her as she growled, taking an offensive stance, ready to strike again. He was hurt seeing the friendship he built dissolve as he defended her as well. She was overtaken by the sight of Seven Seas, who she couldn’t understand was absolutely bonkers, warped from time in this strange region of the ocean.

Daddy Chill dared not retaliate against the little pup, so he arose a wall of ice between them and continued expanding it as he stepped out of the boat and walked on the crystal sand, heading home, done with the journey now that the dog captain found her target. EmBark stood down when he left and directed her ship toward Seven Seas. His onslaught was unending. The ship grew closer, skimming over sand and shallow water to get to the crazed seaman.

“SHE’S REALLY GOING UP TO HIM!” stated the disembodied voice in disbelief.

“Quiet, you!!!! ENOUGH!!!!” responded Seven Seas, screaming to the swirling flame sky. Grabbing shells with one hand, passing them to the other and launching them in random directions over and over.

EmBark began to see the change in Seven Seas. His eyes were dark and darted around like he was afraid something would attack him. She stopped the boat just shy of him. Seven Seas checked out the small vessel and stopped his freakout.

“That ship. I know it. Yes, I know it.” he spoke to himself.

“WOOF!” EmBark barked to get his attention. He glanced quickly at her and then his eyes returned to their movement.

“And that dog. I know it. I do know it.” he gestured for EmBark to follow him. “Come now. Come now. Follow me.”

Seven Seas stepped haphazardously up his tower of massacred sea creatures. Bits and pieces and exoskeletons cracked or fell and rolled down to the sea floor. EmBark rode her boat just above, focusing hard to fly it, not wanting to disturb the tower. The madman stood beside the throne he had built out of boat masts.

“I tried to get this ship. I told it to come to me. But so many others came. Not this one. Not this one.” he rambled. “So many others came. Not this one. So many captains. So many crews.”

EmBark noticed Seven Seas wore a captain’s hat similar to her own; his old hat. She dipped her head down to drop the hat and catch it with her mouth. She stepped to the edge of the ship and nudged Seven Seas’ arm with it. He looked down and his eyes planted on the hat. His eyes then darkened further and his face became tense, with a frown growing that would cause EmBark to back away in fear and return the hat to her head.

“You took it. I searched the world for that hat before I EVER EVEN SAVED YOU.” his words grew louder as he spoke. “I SHOULD HAVE LEFT YOU THERE TO STARVE. YOU PUT ME UNDER A SPELL AND TOOK FROM ME MY POWER.”

EmBark backed up her ship. Seven Seas took hold of one of the helm handles and swung it high over his head and then down onto the front of her boat. It crashed into the tower she hovered over, causing everything to begin sliding down. She took control of the ship and backed away further, watching as Seven Seas surfed the sliding debris, his eyes locked onto her the entire way to the sand.

Seven Seas stood hunched in front of the collapsed tower, madness in his eyes and called upon the ocean. From his sides and behind the rubble came every possible sea creature, rising upon a wave that stuck in the air. He summoned from beneath himself a ship that picked him up as he charged forward at EmBark, who began to evade the oncoming attack. She abandoned all hope of saving her former captain. There was pure malice in his eyes where she once saw adventure and bravery.

“WOWZA!!!! THAT LITTLE SHIP’S IN TROUBLE!!! GO LITTLE SHIP, GO!!!!” said the voice.

EmBark gave up flying the ship and commanded the ocean to rise to her. It did so, but weakly, as if Seven Seas’ had a stronger influence over it. She scanned around for cover, but aside from the tower, she was in flat water and sand. Nowhere to go. Seven Seas moved his arms forward at his sides gently, which sent water shooting out from behind the creatures riding the wave that followed him. They were propelled onto EmBark’s ship. She hid in the wheelhouse as best as she could while they searched for her.

Closing in, the creatures chittered and sped up once they spotted EmBark. She felt the ship communicating to her. It gave her the defense she needed. The pup captain closed her eyes and the wooden deck of the ship opened up beneath lobster/stingray amalgamations. They slipped right through the floor and into the sand below. Seven Seas was gaining on her as both vessels sped through the ocean, though sending the sea creatures at her became futile. EmBark quickly learned to deflect any attacks by reconfiguring the ship.

Seven Seas got close enough to leap from his ship to EmBarks. The boat he left crumbled into the wave that subsided. All the creatures he summoned returned to whatever life they had in the strange ocean, losing all interest in the battle right away. The mad seaman stepped towards EmBark, who was stepping backwards into the wheelhouse. She opened the floor beneath him and his legs were through the ship, his feet skidding on the crystal sand. His face didn’t change, even in such a vulnerable position.

The boat stopped as EmBark moved towards the trapped madman. Seven Seas quickly grabbed from his back a large knife and he held it out towards EmBark, making eye contact as he reached forward and grabbed her beard with his other hand, pulling her to himself and closer to the blade.

“You could never be captain, dog.” he said with a low, evil tone. He swung his arm with the blade out to put an end to EmBark, who was failing to remove his hand from her.

A flash of blue filled the ship. A sheet of ice originated at Seven Seas’ forearm which blocked any motion at all. From the side of the ship, Daddy Chill calmly slid on an ice path to retrieve the knife from Seven Seas’ hand.

“HEY THAT OTHER GUY CAME BACK.”

“QUIET! YOU HAVE TO BE QUIET!!!!!” Seven Seas screamed into the air, more upset about the voice than being thwarted.

“You alright, captain?” Daddy Chill asked EmBark while he peeled off the madman’s fingers from her beard. She didn’t respond, seeming to be embarrassed by her attack on him.

“Listen, I got kids who tell me they hate me daily. This was nothing. Wasn’t gonna let this guy do anything to you.” he turned his attention to Seven Seas, whose body was half in the ship still. “Silas, what happened to you? You’re here attacking a dog? A dog who came to save you? You’re no captain.”

Daddy Chill removed the hat from Seven Seas’ head and saw on his head a decent sized mushroom being just laying there. EmBark and him looked at each other and then back at the fungus.

“What’s this?” DC asked Seven Seas, pointing to his head.

“I have something on my head?” he asked.

“You have something living on your head.” he replied.

The Very Magical Mushroom stood up and the voice came from the air again, “UH OH THEY FOUND US.” DC reactively encased it in ice and blasted it with frost, sending it far into the horizon. As soon as it was out of sight, the world around the trio started to change. The sky filled with blue again and the crystal sand vanished. The debris of Seven Seas’ tower disappeared and the madman himself began to transform from the wild captain of the ocean back into Silas Stone, the modest crabber. EmBark watched with tears forming in her eyes as her captain became the frail, old man that he truly was.

“None of this was real?” Daddy Chill asked him.

“It was real. It isn’t anymore.” Silas replied, his voice shaky and withered compared to the power he had moments ago. “The part of the ocean I was looking for wasn’t a place on the Earth. It was a place in my mind. My perfect destination. But the voice. It just wouldn’t stop. I’ll fight sea monsters for an eternity, but listen to that? No.”

EmBark released Silas from her ship and he fell into the water, struggling even just to stay afloat. Daddy Chill froze true ice beneath him, providing him a boat he could sail in, as both he and EmBark felt unwilling to provide transport for the man who risked both their lives. As they parted ways with the old man and headed back towards Big City, DC felt that EmBark was still feeling bad about how she treated him. As they arrived back at his house, he told her to wait as he went inside.

In his backyard, Daddy Chill made a boathouse the perfect size for EmBark’s ship to be stored. He motioned for her to come look. “You don’t have to use it… Just figured you may want somewhere to come home to.”

EmBark looked on with eyes glistening. She backed her boat into it and paced around, seeing out how she felt. A door opened at the back of DC’s home and his kids ran outside and excitedly came aboard, petting and hugging the captain. Her little nub tail wagged happily as she got all the attention.

“You’re free to come and go.” DC offered. His kids came back to surround him. “I know they’d love it.”

EmBark nodded humbly and laid down, enjoying not being in motion for the first time in a long time.

 

N4H perched atop an ancient temple, listening intently. His target was inside, though he’d have to eliminate the hooded guards in order to gain access without alerting others. He considered entering in mantis form, but expected to be noticed as they were not common in the area. One guard stood ready at the open entryway to the marble temple, another patrolled the perimeter, beneath an extended roof supported by large pillars. N4H was biding his time on the edge of this roof, awaiting the perfect moment and for the sun to fall.

In the back of the temple, while a guard strolled by, Naoki’s odachi, Nakanaka, tapped softly from behind a marble pillar, which drew the hooded figure’s attention. It swiftly reacted to the tapping. Within just a moment, the guard was at the site of the tapping, its back facing away from the temple. Nakanaka rose from the ground with Ninja For Hire below. The nimble assassin wrapped a cloth around the guard’s face to muffle a feeble cry, and pulled them backwards so that his Odachi would rise up through their heart.

Ninja pressed the body through the dirt floor into the realm below, but took the purple, hooded robe for himself. He wore it and patrolled the temple’s exterior, matching with precision the pace and gait of the figure he replaced. After a few cycles, Ninja took a single step differently as he passed by the entryway, subtly alerting the other guard to his presence. He felt the eyes follow him as he continued to move along.

The guard took no chances and moved to strike the imposter down, plunging a knife into the spine of the robe. Within it, however, was simply the air. The guard peered down at the empty robe and started to turn around, recognizing its own demise. Nakanaka was already piercing through the skull of the guard and Naoki stood below in mantis form, thoroughly enjoying outsmarting his enemies. He transformed back before approaching the entryway, hoping to attract whoever the next guard was. There was no next guard there, though.

N4H and Nakanaka silently passed through the dim, sconce-lit temple corridors to find that there were no occupants in any of the rooms. Ninja was surprised, as he was informed by the employer that the temple would be heavily guarded and fully manned. They reached the room where the target was meant to be. A being as old as time itself played with mystic forces within the heart of the temple. Its body was weak so it was constantly laid in a bed, operating with minimal physical movement, often doing so out of body.

When they entered the room, they looked around to see all the guards were killed already, a pile of bodies in purple robes filling the corner. Stepping up to the bed, Ninja For Hire held Nakanaka and harnessed darkness to vanquish the ancient being. He was struck by a memory in that room. Many years prior, he was fulfilling a contract for Beemon to slay a corrupt pastor. Just like that night, there was something else in the room.

“You.” N4H stated.

From the throat of the decrepit humanoid laying in the bed unraveled a freakish, sentient pillow with coldness in its empty eyes.

“You stole my target.” he whined.

Pillowfriend slithered rapidly to exit the room, but was stopped by Nakanaka, which blocked the door, moving along with the pillow creature that was trying to find an opening. Naoki stared at the blank pillow face, trying to figure out what manner of being it was. Pillowfriend sensed that the sword definitely wanted to kill him, and that the Ninja was leaning that way. Defensively, he fluffed to his maximum size, sucking in as much air as possible to fill his pillowcase skin. The force of the expansion blasted Nakanaka out of the room, though Naoki reacted quick enough to narrowly avoid being hit. When he stood back up, Pillowfriend was gone.

Nakanaka must have punctured some part of Pillowfriend, as there was a trail of feathers leading out of the temple. It led them to a point in the forest, but PF was nowhere in sight. A feather at Naoki’s feet was buried in the dirt. The creature had burrowed, tunneling away to avoid the confrontation. Pillowfriend was a silent killer, no match for the soul-blade Nakanaka and its pet body.

 

Undercover meant something very different for Officer Mike Nasty. He found it difficult to form attachments with all the women who begged for his love. The only ladies he would wake up in the morning to were Lady Justice and Sally. One woman Mike hadn’t yet tamed, intriguing him so, was his precinct’s new Captain. In the mornings, he would stare in one of his many mirrors and grind on the air, mouthing out her name ‘Oh, Captain Stacy’. He planned to seduce her by bringing in some big name criminals, thereby gaining more accolades, her respect, and ultimately, her desire.

A bulletin board inside Big City Sheriff's Office displayed all the biggest nuisances to the citizens as well as the more elusive wrong-doers. Mike saw Gilberto Matute on the bulletin board and his face shook the big man to his core, even knowing Gilberto was locked up.

“He’s still doing it.” an officer said as she noticed Mike staring.

“He’s locked up.” Mike acted as if the officer was mistaken.

“His body is.” the officer stated and walked away.

Mike didn’t think anything of the brief interaction at the time, but he held it in his memory. On the most wanted list, he checked out all the bad boys and girls that he could take down. A shadow of BD was all they had beside his initials. Too mysterious, Mike thought. He’d go after someone he could locate easily and prove some grit in defeating. Puff was reported to have left the country, so he wasn’t an option. Nothing on the list seemed to jump out at him, so he left the Sheriff’s Office and placed a call.

HardStop quickly arrived at the Officer’s home.

“What do you have for me, Mike?”

“I need a mission from you. Give me some names. I need to bring in someone big.”

“Are they threatening to fire you or something?”

“No, no. I’m their number one Officer. They’d never fire me.” Mike got defensive, forgetting how many times he’d been released from the force.

“Then why are you looking to go after my caliber of criminal?”

“Whoa whoa whoa. Your caliber is right where mine is, tin man.” Mike jested. HardStop chuckled and Mike smirked. “My new captain is an absolute smoke-show. I gotta win her over.”

“Maybe talk to her.” HardStop suggested. The both again broke out in laughter. “Alright, why don’t you try finding Killer Kite. She’s been using her goons as decoys to evade me. I don’t have the time or patience for his games. The last robbery I know of from his crew was Big City Casino. Start there.”

“Thanks, Henry.”

“Don’t forget that invitation. Bring Sally.” HardStop reminded him to join him at the arena sometime.

“Copy that.”

Officer Mike Nasty had given up on Killer Kite once HardStop got involved, expecting a quick incarceration. He rode Sally over to the casino and flashed his badge until he reached the general manager’s office.

“Officer, I don’t know why this needs to be reinvestigated. HardStop showed up right after they left.”

“He sent me. Now… how much did Killer Kite take?”

“Her crew cleaned out the small chamber of the safe. They got away with fifty million.”

“You need a better safe.”

“There is no better safe. What we need is a police department that catches criminals.”

Mike stood from his chair. “Careful how you talk, huh?”

“Relax. I’m glad you’re here. They left through the roof. Rode their kites into the sky as we had weapons ready at the vault door.” The manager walked Mike into the chamber. “See that?”

“Boom.” Officer Mike Nasty exclaimed, taking a torn piece of kite string from the jagged hole in the ceiling.

“Only noticed it today. Some hero HardStop is.”

Mike shoved the heavy man against the wall in defense of his buddy. “And you?” he asked, keeping as calm a demeanor as ever.

“Just catch the kite crew. Get my money back.” The manager removed Mike’s hand and wiped off his jacket.

“No promises on the money.”

Mike hopped on Sally and rode towards the factory district, showing all the local manufacturing plants the string to see if they knew its origin. One worker told Mike to meet him there at night for the info. He went home, then returned when the sun went down and waited outside to see if the guy would show.

“Sounds like you’re looking for us.” A woman's voice came from above.

“Hah.” Mike knew some shenanigans were afoot. “Thought you were tough to find.”

“Not for a low caliber vigilante.”

“Leave my caliber out of this. Are we gonna dance, or you just want to follow me to the precinct?”

Killer Kite cut Mike off by slashing at him with the leftmost kite of her three. The middle one kept her in the air and the one on the right was in her hand.

“Let me stretch a bit.” Mike said, blocking the paper thin, metal blade kite with the barrel of his pistol, which received a large scratch from the strike. The villain looked in disbelief as Mike did one leg squats with one leg up on Sally. She tried to take advantage of the Officer and slashed with her other Kite.

“Nice moves.” Mike said. He lifted his leg even higher, flashing his flexibility and allowing the kite to swing under him and Sally. He quickly mounted his bike and began to ride, which caused the string of the kite to become wrapped up, yanking it from Killer Kite’s hand.

“Idiot.” she growled.

Killer Kite’s frustration at losing her kite caused her to leave the fight as Mike rode down the empty industrial warehouse bays. From those bays came a few other flyers of the kite crew. Some walked and some flew over to him as he parked up.

“One at a time, ladies.” Mike stated to the male majority of enemies. “Be right back, Sally.”

Officer Mike Nasty removed packets of oil from his pockets and loaded them into the barrels of his two pistols. He shot at all the kites surrounding him, covering everything and everyone in oil, including himself. As everyone closed in on him, Mike slid past the crowd and shot up at their kites again. He unloaded bullets until all the kites were tangling together and the crew was gathered in one spot. Then he shot a single bullet at the ground, causing it to burst into flame along with the group.

Mike’s own trail of oil was alight, so he wiped his feet calmly and stepped backwards so that it reached only a couple inches ahead. He watched the beauty of justice burn down the enemies up until he was satisfied. Then he tied the strings to Sally and dragged the entire kite crew to the precinct to be booked.

“You couldn’t bring in Killer Kite?” Captain Stacy scolded Mike. He noticed her hand was wrapped poorly, looking as if she had some sort of rope burn.

“Captain Stacy, your hand…”

The new captain subtly moved her hands towards the back of her waistband. Mike quickly drew his gun, pointing it directly at her. It was a stand off.