by Smasher, Fahrenheit 451, FlashXIII, Kristogar Velo and GummyWorm
Beaten, bloody, and broken, Smasher laid knocked out and unconscious on the floor of a large ship. Long halls stretched into the distance for as far as the eye could see. Two Boull guards stood at the end of the hall, and right in front of Smasher stood the king Boull, who was seven feet tall and had blue skin.
"Stand up... Earth man..."
Smasher, already regaining consciousness, felt himself compelled to move to his feet.
"Your ally killed my first in command..."
"Wh-where... am I?! H-how...?"
"You are miles above Earth in our mothership. I have a small proposition for you..."
"A proposition? Never! I don't make deals with the devil!"
"Me, the Devil? ... Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haa... No, I am far from it, and I think you would like my deal..." He paused to give him an evil smile. "...for it is to restore your lost powers!"
"Wh-what...? My powers? I... no... never!"
"Very well. Guards, take him away! Put him in the chamber and begin the process!"
Back in Thunder City, outside MBL Headquarters, Flintlock, Lava Dust, and Hero were investigating the fast-running man carrying the red ball.
Hero: "What's with that guy?"
Lava Dust: "There seems to be a H on his forehead."
"I know how to stop him," said Flintlock, swerving the General Lee in front of the guy. The speedster slammed into the hood of the car and fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Lava Dust: "Hey! You killed that guy!"
Hero: "Yeah, can't a guy run around like a psycho these days without getting hit by a car?"
"Don't worry," said Flintlock. He stepped out of the car and and stood over the fallen man. "Yep, just what I thought: a solid hologram. And there's something written on this ball. It looks like the letters IRMG... Oh no, this ball belongs to the Insane Rabid Militia Gerbils!"
Lava Dust and Hero, exclaimed in unison, "The what?!"
Flintlock: "Let me tell you a story."
Lava Dust: "I like stories."
Flintlock: "Remember the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961? Well, fast-forward to 1986. I took part in the so-called Bay of Gerbil Invasion. See, I was part of an elite fighting force called the Battle Experiment. We were trained by the NSA and the CIA. We were to start an uprising. But when we got there, we were ambushed. I was the only one to escape. The others -- SpillFill, FrankieFich, Purple Leg -- dead, in jail, or worse. It was orchestrated by the IRMG. I took out as many as I could. They still hate me for escaping."
The speedster looked up. "Hey, what did you do that for? I'm trying to escape from the IRMG. Why did you hit your old buddy, Fleetfoot?"
Flintlock: "And when did you become the new Fleetfoot?"
"About one week ago."
Hero: "That would make you at least Fleetfoot II."
Flintlock: "This hologram must have some of the memories of Fleetfoot. Where is Fleetfoot?"
They heard a rumbling behind them and turned to see small clouds of dust.
The Fleetfoot hologram yelped, "Oh no! They found me!"
Lava Dust: "They have little bombs strapped to them!"
Flintlock: "Kamikaze mission! You little furry bastards won't take me down this time, either."
He took out his shot gun and started blowing them away. "If you guys need them, I have some more weapons in the trunk of my car."
Marv Velo called weakly from his bed, "Speck? Get my costume. I'm ready to help the MBL again."
Speck had been a member of the Metahero League of America, the immediate predecessor of the MBL, and was later an ally of the Seven Senses. Speck had been presumed dead in battle but recently seemed to have returned and had been helping the MBL whenever they needed it. The thing was, his body moved so fast constantly that it was impossible to see him. If he slowed down, he could be somewhat visible, but it hurt him to slow down.
Velo's costume and its laser gauntlets were put in front of him in less than half a second after he was finished talking. He put them on.
"Y'know... it feels good to have this back on again. Now, let's see if I'm ready..."
Velo headed to the gym. The past month's battles had taken their toll on him. First, there was his fight with Victory, a misguided former MBLer, when the Infamous Bedlam Gang and the Arch-Moderator destroyed Europe, and parts of the rest of the world with it. That had almost destroyed him physically. Then, before he was fully recovered, he helped a trio of former villains, Victory included, secretly aid the League against the Four Horsemen. That had nearly wrecked his costume's powers. Now, however, he was ready to get back into action.
"Nice threads, chief."
Velo whirled, thinking, How could anyone have gotten in without my knowing?
"Grow Worm!" he said, pointing to the Worm. "But I thought you had died fighting the Ring of Fish!"
"Nah, just had to do a bit of wheeling and dealing. I've yet to collect my Super Bowl tickets. And it's just the Worm now, ever since I lost my stretching and growing powers. Anyways, I figured you might want this..."
The Worm tossed Velo a small mechanical widget. "Let's see them try to drop into warp without that, huh?"
Velo looked at the object, then looked up to find himself alone once again.