by the_indestructible_man, ritchie_rags, darkknighttec_007, underfahrenheit451 and EileenK98
The Pre-Crisis Super-Dodge and General Lee touched down near a monument two miles outside Lebanon, Kansas. Atop the monument, a scrambling antenna blocked out Hate Assbury's tracking signal for the area. The vehicles had passed through a transdimensional vortex on the MBL's world, where they had left detailed instructions at the MBL Headquarters for any stragglers who showed up late. The vortex could easily be opened from the MBL's world using the code left at the headquarters.
As the Super-Dodge's engine whirred to a stop, Indestructible Man hopped out, as Flintlock and King Psionic climbed out of the General Lee.
Indestructible Man: "All right. Once the others get here in the Nowheremobile, we'll have to divide up into teams. If we can't take out Dr. Marten, Whore Babylon, Viet Khan, Law Shark, and Gun Runner in one swoop, Assbury's forces will be able to track us down right away."
A boom was heard as the Nowheremobile appeared, and out stepped Disco Stave, Natsuko, and Lady Jenna. They explained that Time Trustee Tempus and Medusa Lass had refused to go with the team, but Nowhereman had managed to convince them to leave the MBL Headquarters.
Indestructible Man: "All right! What say we decide on our teams over barbecue! The burgers should be done right about now. Follow me around back..."
Just as the group began to decide what to do next, a bright red and black portal opened, and a figure fell out. It was Smasher in bad condition.
"ZED!" Smasher held his head for a little while as everyone stood speechless at seeing their fellow MBLer. Smasher turned, looking over his new surroundings, and saw the others. Nowhereman walked toward Smasher.
Nowhereman: "Buddy, that you? Welcome back! Where have you been?"
Smasher: "Nowhereman... it can't be you. It must be one of your doubles from another world..."
"Double from another world?" Nowhereman turned toward the others and whispered, "Hey, guys... I think Smasher has finally got hit too hard in the head..."
Smasher: "I was traveling through hypertime looking for you guys, for our world, when I caught up with Zed... Something strange happened when he opened the portal to the next world, and we were split up... I was sent here, but he is nowhere in sight..."
Nowhereman: "Yup... He's gone, all right..."
Smasher: "So where are Hardy New-Born and the others?"
The rest of the team paused, not knowing how to answer Smasher.
The Indestructible Man came back around the front of the Super-Dodge with a plate of burgers, a Kiss the Chef apron, and a concerned look for the noises. He saw the new arrival and put the plate down, running over as he untied the apron.
Indestructible Man: "Smasher! Is Zed back, too?"
Smasher: "Oohhh... no..."
Nowhereman: "You know Smasher and Zed?"
Indestructible Man: "Before the Arch-Moderator shut you guys down, I tracked the two of them down to the world known as No Man's Land in search of the MBL. I just missed them, but I put on a tracker on the escaping Zed... WAIT! Zed might still have the tracker on him! I could track his location, then with the Dodge if the hypertime interference isn't too great!"
The others sat Smasher down in a lawn chair and gave him a burger and can of soda as Indestructible Man rushed to the car and began fiddling with the dial. As he hit the tracking frequency, a voice familiar to the MBL was heard from the car's speakers.
"Umm... Hi, everyone. Is there anything I can do? It's me, Dragnet Zero."
Flintlock: "Hey, it's our ol' buddy from before our scattering."
King Psionic: "What can we do to get him?"
Indestructible Man: "Well, I can lock onto his signal. But there is no way to get him over here without a quark rod and a power source for it."
Flintlock: "A quark rod? Oh, sure, I got one of those." He reached into his pocket and pulled one out.
Nowhereman: "Hey, I found the remains of a big metal satellite dish on the ground. If we all blasted our powers together into it, like a funnel, we could generate a lot of energy."
Flintlock: "Well, let's start blasting!"
Nowhereman and Indestructible Man hooked up the satellite dish to the quark rod, and several began using their powers in it. They kept blasting until a portal opened, and out popped Dragnet Zero.
As the others sat and ate burgers, cole slaw, and baked beans, while seeing to Smasher and Dragnet Zero, the Indestructible Man kept trying to compensate his tracker to pick up Zed's signal on his analog dial.
Indestructible Man: "All right, we're getting close to ten members here now, which'll work great for going after Assbury's five lieutenants. We just have to see if we can draw Zed back and any other old MBLeaguers we can track down, and quickly."
Flintlock: "Why so quickly?"
Indestructible Man: "Well, besides my urge to get this dilemma solved, we have to be on the lookout for any patrols by the Meta Syndicate forces..." He sighed. "I can't find any sign of Zed. I think the signal jammer on the monument might be interfering. I'll have to see if I can track him down after we split up."
Nowhereman finished his second burger and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "All right, then, we best figure out our strike teams to send out to the five cities. Any strategy ideas?"
Indestructible Man: "Well... the New York team will need to be smart enough to outsmart Dr. Marten's lab and creations. The Chicago team will need to be quick enough to outrun and outshoot Gun Runner's posse. The Los Angeles team will need to be wily enough to beat back Law Shark's manueverings. The Las Vegas team will need a strong enough will to survive Whore Babylon's advances. The New Orleans team will need to be strategic enough to defeat Viet Khan's troops in open battle.... Well, any ideas on who best qualifies?"
Lady Jenna, Natsuko's protege, spoke up. "Me and Disco Stave!"
Disco was speechless.
Natsuko shook her head and sighed. "I liked the Lady I had in the eighteenth century. No trouble at all -- 'till that Revolution thing broke out."
Smasher: "I'm not even fully sure where I am yet, but I'm in..."
Nowhereman: "Hell, yeah... Smasher, how about some ass-kicking, like from the good old days... Shotgun Las Vegas!"
Smasher: "Yeah, sure..."
So Smasher and Nowhereman left to go kick some ass, and the rest of the teams were decided. In Las Vegas, Smasher and Nowhereman would battle Whore Babylon. In Los Angeles, the Indestructible Man and Flintlock would battle Law Shark.
Disco Stave walked bashfully up to Lady Jenna and said, "Uh... So, where do you wanna go? Heh."
"No, Jenna stays with me," said Natsuko sternly. "No offense, Steve, but I can't let anything -- and I do mean ANYTHING -- happen to her until the time comes."
"What?" said Dragnet Zero. "You mean I get stuck with a guy that'll say heh every time I get my butt kicked? Cool!" He turned to Disco Stave. "How's New York City sound to you, partner?"
Disco Stave said, "Let's go."
Natsuko turned to Jenna and said, "So I guess that leaves us to go fight Gun Runner in Chicago." She said to the others, "Jenna doesn't know what she can do yet. I've taught her some fighting techniques for the time being."
The Indestructible Man said, "Maybe someone should head back to the MBL Headquarters and see if any other MBLers show up. Tempus is acting strangely, and we should make sure he and Medusa Lass don't return to MBL Headquarters alone."
After no one volunteered, King Psionic finally said, "All right, I'll go." He shrugged and said hopefully, "Maybe someone else will show up there."
"When you make it back, maybe you could tackle Viet Khan in New Orleans," suggested the Indestructible Man. "It's the only unclaimed mission."
King Psionic hid his disappointment as he returned through the vortex into the MBL's world. He wondered if he would end up missing out on any of the missions, or if someone else would show up to assist him in one of the unclaimed ones.