by Gooz, HERO!, Nowhereman and Vulpixjoe
A bright white light concealed seven figures. The only visible figure was the villain known as Incursion. Energy SURGED into his body from the other figures.
Hardy New-Born gritted his teeth, repeating over and over in his head the last message from Prometheus X. "Two are the key to defeat..." Hardy New-Born now knew that meant the last of the six members, the Hypertime Entity and Viper. He now heard something new in his mind. "One is the key to victory." He knew the only way to defeat Incursion was to cut off his power supply.
"Hero, you know what to do when I'm gone..." said Hardy New-Born.
"What...?" said Hero. "AGGHHHH!"
"Don't worry... you will know what I mean..." Hardy New-Born spread out his arms and started to disintegrate into the light. His eyes and hair turned white, and rhyme force energy burst out of his every cell. Hardy New-Born then said one last thing.
"Incursion... you're FUCKED!"
And just like that, the Rhymer was gone. The energy tranfer stopped, the white light disappeared, and the five remaining of the six fell to the ground, all beaten up, bruised, and bloodied except little Ritchie, who was protected by Hardy New-Born's powers the whole time. Hero was the only one who was not knocked out.
They all found themselves now on the battlefield outside New Champ City. Incursion appeared to be struggling but then was sucked through a white vortex.
"It is over," said Hero. "The Rhymer broke the transfer by... killing himself, and without all the six, Incursion wasn't able to stay in our plane of reality. Incursion is dead, or at least stuck inside of himself, hopefully forever."
Hero didn't know what to do, although Hardy New-Born had told him that he would. He looked all around in every direction around him but saw nothing. Then he spotted the Boull's half-destroyed ship and the cloning chamber.
"I know how to save the Rhymer," Hero muttered to himself. "His soul is not dead, only his body. If we can use the chamber, I can save him before it's too late!"
Hero then looked around and saw no members of the MBL in sight, so he started to slowly limp toward the cloning chamber.
He analyzed the cloning chamber, and with his powers, it was not hard to figure out the inner workings of the machine. Hardy New-Born had placed a small piece of his own energy inside Hero, certain that Hero would realize his mission.
As Hero began to download the Rhymer's energy into the chamber, Viper stirred.
Viper: "WAIT! IF THE RHYMER COMES BACK NOW, YOU'VE OPENED THE DOOR FOR INCURSION TO COME BACK. WE ARE BUT FIVE NOW. WITH THE SIXTH, INCURSION IS FREE TO TERRORIZE THIS WORLD AGAIN."
Hero: "I'm not going to sit here doing nothing while the Rhymer's last vestige of life energy fades away inside of me."
Hypertime Entity: "You must. There is no other way to stop Incursion from living again."
Viper: "The Rhymer sacrificed himself for us. He knew the consequences."
Hero: "I refuse to accept that."
Kid Bucket: "We have to do something for the Rhymer."
Hypertime Entity: "There is nothing to do for him."
Hero: "NO! You mean there is nothing you WANT to do for him."
Hypertime Entity: "There's no love lost between us, that's no secret, but even if he was my mother, there is no way to bring him back without suffering."
Hero: "I'd expect YOU to kill your own mother if she interfered with your plans."
Hypertime Entity: "So I did. But that's beside the point."
Kid Bucket: "We need the Rhymer. He IS the MBL."
Viper: "SO MUCH THE BETTER."
Hypertime Entity: "I will destroy the chamber now."
Major Man: "Not if I can do something about it."
VIPER: "YOUR ARRIVAL DOES LITTLE TO AFFECT THIS DECISION. YOU WILL JUST DIE, AS WILL HERO, RITCHIE, AND KID BUCKET."
"What about us?" Team mascot Beer-Drinking Lad stood in the distance, surrounded by the rest of the MBL. Realizing the futility of their efforts, the Hypertime Entity teleported Viper away.
Ritchie: "Now we can bring back Hardy New-Born."
Hero: "No. They were right about one thing. If the Rhymer comes back, the door is open for Incursion, which could mean the end of the world."
Dragnet Zero: "So what do we do?"
Hero: "Ritchie."
Ritchie: "Yes, sir?"
Hero: "You can contain the Incursion force. The Incursion Force energy can live safely inside of you, allowing us to bring Hardy New-Born back with no repercussions."
Ritchie: "I'm scared."
Beer-Drinking Lad: "Nothing to be afraid of. Want a beer?"
Little Ritchie refused the drink and allowed Hero to lead him over to the Incursion Force. Ritchie held the crackling ball of pure energy in his hands and slowly began absorbing it. When that was complete, Kid Bucket escorted Ritchie to a seat where he could rest.
Hero proceeded to the cloning chamber and released all of Hardy New-Born's energy into the chamber. With a flip of the switch, the machine roared to life. Moments later, a fully healthy Hardy New-Born stood before the MBL.
Moments after the MBL cheered, the machine roared to life once again. The cloning chamber shook with energy. The MBL, especially Hero, stood in awe. Once the smoke had cleared, an eel-like energy being floated in the air, eyeing its prey: the MBL.
Hero knew in an instant what had happened. It was the creature from the void, which had caused Hero so much pain as it entered him, waiting for a way out. The cloning chamber had allowed it the opportunity, and the MBL was about to pay for it.
Nowhereman awoke and looked around him. "What the hell happened? There was a fight, and then I wake up in the middle of -- dare I say it -- nowhere!"
Suddenly, a voice boomed out, "Nowhereman, you are away from the field of battle in the nowhere zone! I can reveal many secrets to you, such as your origin!"
Nowhereman: "You know where I came from?"
"Oh, yes! I can only tell you, though, that one of your fellow teammates is actually your father!"
Nowhereman: "Who?"
"Sorry, I can't say! As a consolation, I can reveal that the recent feelings you have felt of your destiny are not written in stone! Incursion wished you to kill his underlings, but you must not!"
Nowhereman: "Okay, but who are you?"
"I am one who has recently fallen!"
With this, Nowhereman returned to the real world and resumed his mask of incompetence.
Vulpine Joe: "Hero, stop using your powers. I foresee your death in FOUR POWER USES!"
Hero: "We must defeat this eel."
Vulpine Joe: "The MBL will take care of it. You sit this out."
Hero: "No. I owe it a world of hurt!"
"But... my vision..." said Vulpine Joe, somewhat hurt. "Well, I foresee your death, but you still are willing to fight. I don't know whether you're brave or just stupid."
Looking in on the fight from the shadows was a man out of place, a changed man, the one known as Prometheus X. He had observed the battle from start to finish, looking over his friends and family.
He had warned the Rhymer and the MBL of the war to come and helped avert it. He was once the hero known as Gooz. Now he was Prometheus X, for better or worse. His first job overlooking the plane of the living had been a success, but he would not let Hero sacrifice himself, for only Gooz of the MBL knew the pain that would be felt within.
Prometheus X turned around and saw his son Ritchie, who looked like he was sick. Prometheus X saw a darkness inside of him. "No!"
The stranger known as Prometheus X knew what came next, for he could see all times, past and present, at once. He knew what the small darkness in Ritchie would do to him. Hero was wrong, for Incursion wasn't Gooz's nephew, he was Gooz's son. If Prometheus X let the evil stay inside of little Ritchie, then he would turn to the dark side, but if Prometheus X took the time to save Ritchie, then Hero might fall.
Prometheus X looked inside of himself for the answer, and in a flash of light he was on a white plain inside Ritchie's soul. Stepping closer toward him was Incursion, who took off his helmet and revealed a much-older version of Ritchie.
Incursion: "Hello... FATHER!"
Prometheus X: "I will not let you corrupt my son... like you have been corrupted."
Incursion: "Oh, it has been done already. If I live, then he must turn into me at some point, for I have traveled back from a time yet to come."
Prometheus X: "No, you are wrong. Time is like a river, always flowing in one direction. Once it has passed, you cannot return... you may return to a past similar but not the same... for that is the way of hypertime. The future is not set. Now I shall not let you corrupt my son!"