by Sir Justin of Camelot
At the MBL Headquarters, Sir Justin stood at the front door, having knocked on it for three hours.
"Hello? Is there anyone home? I've come to join your League! Hello?"
Marv Velo walked up to the MBL Headquarters, a look of anger on his face.
"Excuse me," said Sir Justin, "are you an MBL member?"
Velo glared at the newcomer. "No. I'm not," he spat out. Then he walked in and slammed the door. Half a minute later, he reconsidered and opened the door again. "Well, come on in!" he shouted to the awaiting knight of Camelot.
Sir Justin stood there, unsure as to what to say. "Uh... Who could I talk to about joining the MBL? I was recommended by my grandfather, who was in the original Mysterymen Board Society during the 1940s. He called himself the Green Knight."
Marv Velo stood in the dark, his back toward Sir Justin, and his head down. "There is no more MBL."
Sir Justin was astonished. Now he really did not know what to say.
Velo looked back at Sir Justin and laughed. "I guess once Hardy New-Born was disabled, everything went downhill. Nowhereman took over the team. Ha! Nowhereman! Can you believe it? Hardy New-Born would NEVER have handed the team over to that goof-off! From that point on, it was like watching the Three Stooges bumbling their way toward a climax. Hell, I don't even know what's happened to most of the team.
"And then there's this Time Trustee Tempus fellow, lost in time. He's not even a member of our team, at least not yet. I know Europe was still missing, but sheesh, couldn't that have waited until the team had defeated this latest threat? ... that of Mr. Bucket?
"It was almost like this was a comic-book, and the writer had been changed, from a top-notch thriller author, to some guy who likes to write funnybooks! They would NEVER have gotten around to actually rescuing me. Heh. I'm still not sure how I escaped so quickly. It was almost like an editor or someone had stepped in and said, 'Okay, wrap it up, you idiots! We're scrapping it all and starting over!' And maybe that's how it was. Maybe that's all we are... characters in some silly fan collaborative fiction."
Sir Justin stood transfixed, but totally confused.
"I guess you have no idea what I'm talking about."
"No sir, I -- uhhhhrrrmmm -- No, sir, I don't."
"Well, it doesn't really matter if you do or not. The MBL is history. Come back in a month or two, maybe some new writer will resurrect the team. As for me, I don't know if I ever want to be involved with it again. So, yeah, you're an MBL member, for all that's worth... the only MBL member left."
Sir Justin could not raise his eyes to look at the intense figure. "What should I do?"
"It's up to you. I'm leaving." Velo made for the door, then turned around almost as an afterthought. "Well, there is that damn Time Trust android, or talos, or whatever. I think he's still in the past. You could wait around until he shows up. Maybe he'll even have saved Europe by then. But from what I've seen, his circuits are burnt. He's as useless as the MBL. Er, no offense."
"None taken."
Marv Velo walked out of the MBL Headquarters, letting the door close gently. Sir Justin stood there in the middle of the conference room for another minute before he finally sat down, and waited.