by Happy Noodle Boy, Rypta Gud'n, Jonah'sWhale, Shock Headed Peter and Chewy Walrus
HNB looked at the two new arrivals with a panicked look on his face. There was a second left to go.
As the three ducked (for all the good THAT would do), the bomb suddenly disappeared in a flash of light (ANOTHER flash of light... how many things have gone disappearing intime ?!?).
The three turned around to see what had happened, when standing where the bomb was a few seconds ago was...
...Rhyme Guardian. He held a small device in his hand and looked at the three smugly, obviously hiding something.
Franta yelled, "What the hell are you doing? Why are you here? How did you do that? What the hell is that thing in your hand? Who would win, Thor or Metaman?"
Rhyme Guardian said confidently, "heh". He thumbed a switch on the device in his hand and disappeared.
"This is really weird, meeting a past version of myself..." said HNB, "and we don't know what happened to those bombs. They could have just been planted at another point in the time stream..."
"Hey! He's a past version of you! You should be able to remember this happening and tell us how this works out, New-Born!"
"No can do. I know that he is just me, but I don't remember any of this happening. He exists outside of time..."
Arriving at the Statue of Liberty, JW and SHP witness the commotion in the torch.
Lance: The bombs are still missing.
HNB: The Rhymer's still around.
Franta: Docs 1-3 are here somewhere.
JW: HG is in the hands of that bastard, Grandpa.
SHP: So, for all of your undaunted powers, TOMB remains the pathetic team I always knew you were. Thanks for leading me to the rest of the guys, JW. Now you all die!
SHP pulls out a lightsaber and swings it at Jonah's Whale.
JW dodging) What the fudge?? Where are you getting all this stuff, SHP?
SHP: I invented a device that allows you to move between stories and take whatever you want! THE INTER-TEXTUALIZER! I pulled Steve Peterson from a cheap dime store detective novel, then implanted him with a crappy insect thing from some Matrix fan-fiction!
JW Still dodging) That's incredible!
SHP: Well, seeing as this Star Wars Novel saber isn't working, I think I'll get me some... wait... where's my inter-textualizer gone??
Steve H Peterson: Turn round, buddy. When I shoot you with the ultimate nullifier, I want you to see it.
SHP: Oh ****! (Clicking heels)There's no place like my base! There's no place like my base!
SHP disappears in a shower of sparkles.
Steve: Damn. He had ruby slippers.
JW: Hey, why were all you guys just standing there?
Rhyme Guardian: I guess the guy who did the last post forgot about us. Sorry.
HNB: Maybe we were paralysed in an energy field?
Rhyme Guardian: Yeah, that might work...
JW: Okay, the point is, we HAVE accomplished nothing. The Girl is still gone.
HNB: And the Rhymer's still out there...
Franta: Yeah, guys, we've already been over this three posts ago.
Lance: So.
Franta: So.
HNB: So.
JW: So.
Chewy: So.
HNB: When did you get here?
Chewy: Just now, I think. All of this time-travelling is making my head spin. Let's get to it, TOMB. There's a world that needs saving!
CHEWY: All right, TOMB, regroup! From what I know of our last recognizable transmission from HourGirl, she's stuck in the... Marvel Universe?! What the heck...? <under breath> Where does she come UP with this stuff...?!
STEVE: So, what do we do, Chewy? We've got three (count 'em - 3) metavillains after us, one of which has HourGirl, one of which has the keys to the bombs, and another of which has the ability to skip through books. What are we gonna do?!
Lance: Anyone know anything about the history of the Marvel Universe?
JW: I've read "Marvels"... does that count?
FRANTA: I can leaf through my X-Men back issues... or have the Docs run an Internet sweep over a bunch of search engines...
HNB: No, gentlemen... we need something better. We need an inter-dimensional portal. We need Hypertime!
STEVE: Oh, crap...
FRANTA: Who's writing this thing? Mark Waid?!
Lance: Where's a Crisis when you need it?
JW: Can anyone say "PlotHole"?
CHEWY: Wait, guys, I think HNB may be on to something here. But we're going to need a way in. An insider. And I know just what we need.
STEVE: And what would that be?
JW: Please, enlighten us, O fearless leader...
Lance: <under breath> Hypertime?
FRANTA: S'OK, LANCE... S'OK...
HNB: Wait, wait, wait... I was right?
CHEWY: Surprisingly, yes. Here's what we're gonna do, gentleman. Now, I realize that it goes against the TOMB code (which seems impossible, I know... but bear with me...), but it'll take something we've never been able to master before... TEAMWORK! You in?
Continued in Chapter 7