by HERO!, Vulpixjoe and Nuriko
Beer-Drinking Lad pulled himself out from under the rubble, dusting himself off in the process. "You guys aren't doing anything without me."
Dragnet Zero: "Lad!"
Beer-Drinking Lad: "Hero forgot all about me."
Flintlock: "Well, the idiot forgot all about me, too. I'm just glad we resurfaced before the team went off to defeat the aliens without us."
Hero: "Sorry. In all of the confusion, I just... I'm sorry."
Dragnet Zero: "That's okay. Hero's still relatively new at this metahero business."
Shock-Headed Peter: "Now, if we're done patting each other on our backs, we've got an uneasy alliance and a world to save."
"Let's do this!" said Beer-Drinking Lad, the MBL mascot.
And with that, the MBL -- with Shock-Headed Peter in tow -- set off to defend the world by defeating the Boull. Kid Bucket escorted the young Ritchie to safety in the secret MBL Headquarters that not even all MBLers knew existed. He would surely be safe from Boull aliens and the evil incarnate Incursion.
Upon arrival on the battlefield, two MBL teams united. Hero, the Worm, Dragnet Zero, Flintlock, and Beer-Drinking Lad joined Agent F7, Nowhereman, Marv Velo, the Caped Cadet, Fleetfoot, Lioness, Zed, and Major Man, with Shock-Headed Peter unofficially leading them all.
Major Man, indicating Shock-Headed Peter, said, "What's he doing here?"
The Worm: "For now, he's a friend. We'll worry about him after the Boull are defeated."
Lioness: "We've been battling for five hours now. The field is lined with Boull bodies, but there doesn't seem to be an end to their army."
Velo: "And they're savage as all hell, too."
Nowhereman, holding a bruised arm, moaned, "Tell me about it."
Hero: "Let's assess the situation. Then we'll make our move."
Caped Cadet: "We've been assessing the situation for hours. It's ugly, plain and simple."
Dragnet Zero: "Let Hero have a moment. With his powers, he can analyze the enemy and figure our best plan."
Fleetfoot: "Well, our current strategy doesn't seem to be working that well."
Marv Velo: "What strategy? All we've been doing so far is bleeding and killing."
Fleetfoot: "Exactly."
All fell silent as Hero scanned the scene. Minutes passed. All MBLers held their breath until Hero spoke, saying he came up with nothing, no magical attack plan. The only way to have a chance against the barrage of Boull aliens was to continue scratching and biting until the last Boull fell.
Shock-Headed Peter: "Well, let's go get 'em!"
And Dragnet Zero wondered where his Aunt Martha was. The Christmas card had usually arrived by this time of year, with those peanut butter chocolate bon bons she made. But nothing had come in the mail so far.
At his home, Vulpine Joe stared at the phone, hoping for a ring, not noticing on the TV screen there was a special report on Aunt Martha's body.
Elsewhere, Natsuko was off looking for the Lady of Light.
Natsuko: "Excuse me, miss? Miss? Could I check your body for something?"
The young woman she spoke to backed off and said, "What? You a dyke or something?"
Natsuko: "How rude! I am not a dyke! ... whatever that is."
Continued in Chapter