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by the Message Board League

[NOTE: FIRST PAGE IS LOST. The MBL is now in its underground headquarters in Thunder City. The villain Viper steals the powers of Prometheus X. He allies himself with Lone Survivor, his good counterpart from a parallel universe, who mistakes the MBL for the Dark MBL, which is a criminal team in his own dimension. Another villain called Heldane Reytzen, a former hero and ex-member of the intergalactic Matter-Beam Corps, allies himself with Viper and Lone Survivor. The villains have battled the MBL once, with Nightwatch personally battling Heldane Reytzen.]

Agent F7 finds a communication device and decides to try and contact the MBL. "MBL, where are you?"

Hearing that Heldane Reytzen is alive, Nightwatch gets a burst of adrenaline and gets ready to kick his ass.

Rhyme Guardian rallies his forces: Gooz, Disco Stave (even more powerful and ready to kick some ass), Agent F7, Kid Bucket (recently recovered from that whole Future Bucket affair, he's kinda shaky), and Nightwatch (as a reserve member and MLE liaison). Prometheus X is not with them, but Rhyme Guardian has faith that he will return, if needed.

Rhyme Guardian and his allies fear that this alliance between Heldane Reytzen, Lone Survivor, and Viper may form the basis of a new Infamous Bedlam Gang. They have to be ready.

The Rhymer says:

"The heroes are all gathered here,

Ready to fight without fear!"

Heldane Reytzen: "Nightwatch, I will kick your ass!"

In the meeting room of the MBL wait Agent F7 and Nightwatch. The members of the MLE should be here any second.

Agent F7: "I hate all of this waiting."

Nightwatch: "I know what you mean. I can't wait to kick Heldane's ass. But first we have to regroup and prepare."

Agent F7: "Where is everyone else? Shouldn't they be here?"

Nightwatch: "Well... Gooz is still trying to learn his new powers, Bucket needed a little time to think, and Disco Stave is working out with Rhyme Guardian in the gym."

Agent F7: "I wish Viper was here right now, so I could..."

A shadow forms around Agent F7.

Viper: "YOUR WISH IS MY..."

Viper takes Agent F7 and slams him into Nightwatch.

Nightwatch: "So where are your partners, Heldane Reytzen and Lone--"

Viper: "As we speak, they are taking care of your friends in the gym. I have had enough with the talking..."

As he finishes his words, he jumps at Nightwatch and lands a hard right hook in his face. With quick agility, he spins around with a round-house kick to Agent F7. While Agent F7 is gasping for air, Viper picks him up and slams him right through the floor into one of the guest rooms. Agent F7 is bloody on the floor, knocked out but still breathing.

Nightwatch: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I"LL KILL YOU!!!"

Nightwatch jumps at Viper, giving him punch after punch after punch. Nightwatch kicks out Viper's legs, and Viper falls to the ground.

Viper: "HA HA HA. DO YOU EVEN THINK YOU HAVE A CHANCE OF DEFEATING ME? HA HA HA. WITH THE POWERS I STOLE FROM PROMETHEUS X, I AM ALL-POWERFUL! I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO TOUCH YOU TO KILL YOU!"

Nightwatch: "Wha--?"

Viper puts his right hand up, which raises Nightwatch off the ground, and throws Nightwatch across the room into one of the teleporters, smashing it to bits. Nightwatch gets to his feet, only to be thrown across the room again, this time smashing into a filing cabinet. Nightwatch stumbles to his feet again, his costume ripped up, blood all over him, and as Viper goes for the killing blow, the remaining teleporters start up, and the members of Meta League Europe walk in. But Viper is gone.

Sadhu-Man: "Oh my God, what happened?!"

Nightwatch: "It was Viper! He attacked! Agent F7 needs more help than me."

Albino Chameleon: "I was going to make a cameo appearance to boost the sales of your meta series, but now I'm not so sure. It's time to type myself back to the beach and dreams of the old Infamous Bedlam Gang! Ahhhhh... sand castles and pina coladas."

Meanwhile, in the gym, as the shadows disperse from around Lone Survivor and Heldane Reytzen, Lone Survivor notices two men. One he never encountered in his universe, but the other was all-too familiar. The Rhymer, the leader of the MBL who systematically destroyed all life in his dimension.

Rhyme Guardian and Disco Stave spot the intruders, but too late. Heldane Reytzen fires a blue burst of flame, knocking Disco Stave back into a rack of dumbbells.

Rhyme Guardian looks at Lone Survivor for a moment before noticing his striking resemblance to Viper. His moment of hesitation allows Lone Survivor to take the first swing. A left hook to the jaw staggers the Rhymer back a few feet. Rhyme Guardian counters with a flying kick that throws Lone Survivor back into the wall.

The Rhymer looks to his left to see Disco Stave trapped in a red cage that is slowly shrinking. Rhyme Guardian picks up a weight and chucks it at Heldane Reytzen. Heldane stumbles back, releasing Disco Stave.

Disco Stave makes a run for the door. He heads toward the meeting room to find help.

Lone Survivor: "Get him, Heldane! We don't need any loose ends."

Heldane Reytzen sprints down the hall after Disco Stave, leaving Lone Survivor and Rhyme Guardian alone.

Lone Survivor kicks Rhyme Guardian in the chest, dropping him to the floor, out of breath. Lone Survivor walks over to him, tilts his head back, and prepares to deliver the killing blow. But he stops. His life has been nothing but death. Can he really take another life?

His thoughts are halted by a panting Heldane Reytzen.

Heldane Reytzen: "The... ML... E. They are... here."

Lone Survivor: "We can't fight them now."

Lone Survivor reaches into his coat to find his gun. He points it at Rhyme Guardian and fires. The crackling blue energy leaves Rhyme Guardian temporarily paralyzed.

Lone Survivor: "Come on, let's get out of here."

He generates another cloud of shadows that transport him and Heldane Reytzen to a secret location.

Then Disco Stave, Gooz, Kid Bucket, Nightwatch, Agent F7, and the MLE arrive, but too late.

Disco Stave: "Dammit!"

Nightwatch: "You are mine, Heldane..."

Gooz: "Well, what do we do now?"

Disco Stave: "We find 'em."

Kid Bucket: "Forgive me, but I have to take a leave of absence for the League. Call it a vacation, of sorts. I just have things I have to attend to, and I just didn't want you to think that I dipped out on you. I don't wanna bum anyone out. I'll be back 'round."

Just as he stands there, Kid Bucket is enveloped in a large, bright, white light and disappears.

Rhyme Guardian stands up in the gym, a look of pure rage in his eyes. He had created a small force field around his face just as the gun went off by manipulating the rhyme force energies, leaving him with minimal damage. He marches right past the MLE, Gooz, Disco, and Agent F7 without a word to the remnants of one of the teleport machines, hoping it still works.

Sensing what he is about to do, Gooz cries out, "You can't go by yourself!"

But his words are lost as a rage-filled Rhyme Guardian fires up the machine and goes to hunt down the new Infamous Bedlam Gang by himself.

Rhyme Guardian's just about to leave when Agent F7 stops him. "Stop, Rhymer! Look, I've got something to tell everyone." Everyone attentively listens.

Meanwhile, on the island where Viper, Lone Survivor and Heldane Reytzen are waiting...

Viper: "What do we do now?"

Heldane Reytzen: "They will come to us."

Viper: "How do you know?"

Heldane Reytzen: "Just wait and see."

The MBL suddenly teleport onto the island.

Viper: "Wha--?"

Heldane Reytzen: "Gotcha, punk!" Heldane attacks Viper. He hits him to the ground.

Viper: "What the hell?"

Heldane Reytzen: "I've got something to tell everyone. I'm... Agent F7!"

He pulls off his mask, and Agent F7 stands there. "You see, me and Grow Worm have been sharing the role of Agent F7 and Heldane Reytzen to have an ace in the hole."

Grow Worm, who has already explained this to the rest of the MBL in the Watchtower, morphs into his own self. The MBL have an advantage!

Viper grabs Agent F7 by the throat, squeezes hard, and throws him against the far wall, where he lands in an unconscious heap. "That's what we get for allying with a fictional character."

Lone Survivor: "He was mythical? Why didn't you tell me this?"

Their attention turns now to the MBL forces before them. Rhyme Guardian looks extremely pissed, as does Nightwatch, who obviously was hoping to beat the tar out of Heldane.

Viper draws upon all the remaining power he siphoned from Prometheus X and beomes a nine-foot living shadow.

Rhyme Guardian: "Cheap parlor tricks are not going to save you now."

Just as the battle is about to begin, Lone Survivor's DNA tracker begins chirping wildly. "NO! Good Lord, NO! They can't be here!"

The wall behind Viper and Lone Survivor explodes in a flash of white light. Out steps the Dark MBL: Lord Rhymer, master of the limerick force, Deathwatch, Blood Bucket, Agent 7F, and the dreaded Prometheus XI.

Lord Rhymer: "So, little hero, you thought you could escape us. Ha. Now you have provided us with a brand new world to feast upon." Then he notices Gooz. "So this world still has a Gooz, huh? I had to kill the one in our dimension. The pathetic fool became possessed by the light forces and tried to save hypertime. Your death will be just as sweet."

Both teams look at each other, unsure of their next move.

Rhyme Guardian sees a look of evil in the evil Lord Rhymer's eyes. The two counterpart poets stand in a western-style face-off. The others surrounding them are uneasy, not quite sure what's going on.

Viper thinks that the two teams are probably going to finish each other off anyway, so he disappears to face the heroes another day. But Lone Survivor is eager for revenge. He charges at the dark Lord Rhymer, but the evil MBL leader unleashes a full-force rhyme-force blast into Lone Survivor's chest.

"That'll keep him down for a while," Lord Rhymer sneers.

Suddenly, the two rival poets charge at each other. The two counterpart teams, reacting, start into a brawl: Rhyme Guardian, Agent F7, Grow Worm, Nightwatch, Gooz, and Disco Stave versus Lord Rhymer, Deathwatch, Blood Bucket, Agent 7F, and Prometheus XI.

In the center of the battle, the focal point of the rage between the two teams, the two Rhymers are locked in mortal combat. Vast amounts of energy are being expended, and the teammates know that the Rhymers (both of them) are in danger of merging with the rhyme force and being sucked through hypertime into oblivion. The battle rages on.

The Dark MBL and the MBL are locked in mortal combat, with Lord Rhymer and Rhyme Guardian killing each other. Rhyme Guardian is hitting Lord Rhymer with everything he has and more, but both of them are starting to disappear and merge with the rhyme force. Lone Survivor is dumbfounded and doesn't know who to kill. He looks to his right and knows how they destroyed his world and looks to the left and sees the same people, but they are fighting the bad MBL. The only person he knows he can trust is Gooz. He remembers how the Gooz on his world saved the universe.

Lone Survivor: "Gooz, we can't let Lord Rhymer merge with the rhyme force. You may think it can kill him, but it really can't. It just makes him more powerful!"

Gooz: "We--?"

As Lone Survivor finishes what he was saying, he pulls out his gun and sets it on full power -- to kill -- and fires at both Rhymers.

Gooz: "NOOOOOO!!!"

Gooz tackles Lone Survivor and knocks the gun out of his hand. "What are you, crazy? We don't kill our own to stop a villain!"

Lone Survivor: "Okay, how do you think we should stop them from merging with the rhyme force?"

Gooz: "Um... you take out Lord Rhymer, and I'll take out Rhyme Guardian. Okay?"

Lone Survivor: "Yeah, sure, we'll do it your way."

Lone Survivor tackles Lord Rhymer, and Gooz tackles his friend, Rhyme Guardian. Lone Survivor hits Lord Rhymer with everything he has, but to no effect. He has become so powerful that he now controls the rhyme force! Rhyme Guardian is back on the ground with Gooz.

Rhyme Guardian: "Gooz... we have to stop. Lord Rhymer, while we were merged, I learned what his plan was. He has... m-merged with the rhyme force, making me powerless... and he plans to send out a huge rhyme wave powerful enough to destroy all life on our world. We have to..." And he passes out.

Gooz: "Now... I'm the only one who can stop him! And I know just how. Even if it kills me in the end, I'll stop it!"

While the MBL is fighting the Dark MBL, all the members of the Dark MBL disappear, leaving the MBL standing there.

Nightwatch: "Okay... what just happened?"

Lord Rhymer floats in the air, ready to set off the rhyme wave.

"YOU WILL ALL DIE!" shouts Lord Rhymer, and in a big burst of energy he sets off the wave, but the wave is contained by a force-field created by Gooz.

Lord Rhymer: "What?!"

Gooz: "The o-only one you will k-kill is your s-self!"

Lord Rhymer: "No, you little bastard!"

Blood is coming out of the side of Gooz's lip through his ripped mask, and he is shaking, trying to keep the force-field up. The rhyme force hits with full power, and Lord Rhymer is disintegrated on the spot. Gooz keeps the force-field up just long enough to stop the wave. He then falls to the ground, hitting it hard.

Agent F7: "He did it!"

Nightwatch: "Yeah, we won!"

Disco Stave: "Oh, man, Gooz -- are you okay?"

Gooz: "I... had to... contain the blast, b-but I was... not strong enough... D-did I stop it...?"

Nightwatch: "Yeah, you did good, man. You saved us all."

There is a smile on Gooz's face as he says his last words. "I'm sorry for the pain I... caused as the Dark Gooz. I hope this makes up for it..."

And Gooz is dead.

Rhyme Guardian is knocked out and did not see this, or he would have tried to save Gooz. Lord Rhymer is dead, Viper is gone, and the rest of the Dark MBL are missing and on the loose. Lone Survivor has to decide what he wants to do next.

Rhyme Guardian wakes just in time to see the MBL crouched over Gooz's body. Now that Lord Rhymer is dead, he has regained his control over the rhyme force. He crawls to Gooz, ready to use his healing powers, but to no avail. Gooz has been dead too long. Not even the healing powers of the rhyme force could save him now. But still, Rhyme Guardian struggles to revive the dead Gooz.

"Let it go," Agent F7 says to the shaken MBL leader. "He's dead. There's nothing you can do."

"No!" Rhyme Guardian cries.

"Look, you did all you could. If you hadn't held off the evil Rhymer so long in battle, we'd all be dead. You're a hero. And so was... IS... Gooz," Agent F7 says.

Rhyme Guardian finally accepts the facts. He and his saddened teammates head to the Infamous Bedlam Gang's teleporter and return to their headquarters. But before they go, Rhyme Guardian extends a hand to the shaken Lone Survivor. He takes it, unsure of what to do. Lone Survivor returns to the headquarters with them.

Agent F7: "So, in summary, Grow Worm and I decided to infiltrate Viper's group in order to defeat them. I got to know Lone Survivor, and I would recommend him for membership on a trial basis. I would also like to say how much I will miss Gooz. Goodbye."

Lone Survivor: "I would be extremely honored to join the MBL. After all, I have most of Viper's powers, including the ability to absorb powers and life energy, control shadows, teleport myself and another, and a really nifty gun. My main priority is to hunt down and destroy the evil MBL and to live up to the heroic memory of Gooz. Of course, I will understand if not everyone trusts me right away."

The heroes are gathered for a sad event: the funeral for a fallen friend. There is a large statue of Gooz in a garden. Among the guests at this funeral are Rhyme Guardian, leader of the MBL, Nightwatch, member of the MBL and MLE leader, Agent F7, fellow member of the MBL, Disco Stave, also a teammate on the MBL, Grow Worm, a fellow member of the MBL, Lone Survivor, a man out of place wondering what to do and where to go, and other members of the MLE and the Forgotten Metaheroes. The heroes gather to say goodbye. Two friends and ex-teammates of Gooz while he was part of the Seven Senses, Caped Cadet and Ace Martian, both make speeches about the life and death of Gooz.

The funeral ends, and the guests leave.

Now we see a shadow form in the appearance of a man. It is a stranger, the stranger known as Prometheus X. He stands in front of the statue with a sad look in his face, then disappears. Maybe Prometheus X has forgiven Gooz for his past sins, or maybe Prometheus X was there for a different reason.