by I'm Not Mister Mxypltk, Danny, Tobias Christopher and The Eurostar
The hideout, at an undisclosed location:
When the group of metas came to this place, M'xy had thought he had found a place to stay when the threat he was here to take care of did not arrive. He had the impression this little group would last, even after their current problems were solved. He was surprised when he sensed that some of his new friends did not feel like that. He was not a mind reader, but he caught a thought in the air about how this was only temporary, about how it would last only until things begin to normalize. He did not know who this thought belonged to, but there was one thing he knew for sure: it was not Edulcore.
The feeling Edulcore Cicciotto, the Eurostar, had about this group of metas was so strong, M'xy couldn't help noticing it. He was sure this would last, even if the members weren't always the same, even if it was only on a subconscious level.
When time passed, and things started getting more tranquil for the guys in the hideout, M'xy feared one of the guys would leave precisely because of that. But now, from one moment to another, things have changed. Moments ago, Naecken exploded, filling the place with a weird energy that reached everyone in there, knocking them all briefly unconscious and turning M'xy back into Mick Harrison. It turned out that Naecken had split himself into five different beings.
Danny Hearn slowly picked himself up off the ground. Looking over the room, he noticed several people strewn across the floor. Some of them were his teammates, and it was utterly unremarkable that they were there, as they had been there a moment ago. However, where Naecken was only seconds ago, there were five new people, and this kind of freaked him out. An old man. A woman who appeared to be... what? An angel? Something that may have been a demon -- a bloody demon! A man covered in some sorta robot parts. And a young guy.
"What the hell just happened here?!" he yelled. Nobody seemed capable of providing an adequate answer.
As the confused metahumans awakened to observe the five beings that were now where Naecken was, one of them broke the ice. Tobias Christopher said, "Feds, possessed metahuman racers, more feds, and now this."
Eurostar said, "Guess that means we're meant to be the ones dealing with these kinds of things!"
Danny noticed that Eurostar and Tobias were already on their feet, confronting the strangers. "Wow. They are fast."
Mick smiled to himself. "Saying 'the Eurostar' is fast is redundant. He's famous all over the world because of that."
"I had the impression you knew as little about this world -- or time, in my case -- as I do, M'xy."
"Oh, no, I'm Mick right now. Nice to see you again."
"...Yeah..." Danny turned to focus his attention on Eurostar and Tobias.
Eurostar demanded of the five newcomers, "I want to know who are you, and what have you done with Naecken, and I want to know it now!"
"Yeah!" said Tobias. He shuddered for a moment. "Wow, I feel weird," Tobias said. "I feel like my powers have been boosted."
Tobias ran out the door and vibrated through the opposite wall. "Whoa," Tobias says. "I've just been to the Great Wall of China and back."
"You mean the actual Great Wall of China, or the Great Wall of China Diner on 49th Street?" asked Mick.
"Uh... the diner, actually," Tobias said shamefacedly.
"Yeah, well, your clothes' powers weren't boosted," Mick said as Tobias noticed his clothes were burned and shredded. "Hey, you know who could do something about that? M'xy."
"Yipe," Tobias said, running out the door, only to return immediately in a blue armor-like costume with a lightning bolt on the chest. "That's better!" said Tobias, looking down in astonishment. "Thanks, M'xy!"
The otherdimensional being, who had just returned inside Mick's body in order to create the costume for Tobias, smiled and said, "I can provide armorlike costumes for all of you!"
"But how long will last?" asked Eurostar.
"Um, until I give up control of this body," he explained.
"And that happens...?"
"Every two hours at least," added M'xy.
"You mean that in two hours I will be naked again?" asked Tobias.
"Yes... sorry!" said M'xy, with a malicious smile.
"Okay, no costumes from M'xy," Eurostar laughed. He opened his shoulder pack and took out his old runner's vest. "Tobias, this is a special Olympic athlete's runner's outfit. It should do just fine for you, until we can access some sort of advanced technology. I bet when we find a way to attack the TriVext compound we'll find what we need."
"Yeah, right... when will we go there?" asked Tobias, putting on the old costume.
"Patience, young friend. You are the one who had his vengeance. Now we have to make a plan," Eurostar said, stopping to see how powerful Tobias looked in the red costume. "A plan. But first we have to find out who these people are." On the floor, the five people who replaced Naecken still laid, unconscious.
Suddenly, M'xy started noticing a feeling of energy like that which moments before had come from Naecken's body, now changing something inside him. "Wha--? Are you doing this, Mick--" The moment he said the name of his host, the light in his eyes disappeared.
Mick said, "What? I'm back in charge of the body? What's going on, M'xy--" The light appeared again.
"What the hell?" M'xy said. "What's going on, Mick--" And so on.
"I don't know, M'xy--"
The rest of the team watched in amusement as this situation was repeated a few more times, until Danny finally pitied M'xy and Mick and said, "M'xy... or Mick, whatever. I think it's pretty obvious what's going on here."
"It is?" asked M'xy.
"Yes. Whenever you say the word 'Mick,' Mick takes possession of the body. And whenever Mick says 'M'xy,' you take possession of the body."
M'xy nodded, beginning to understand. "Okay, okay, I'll ask him... Mi-- uh, M-I-C-K asks if that means we're doomed to share this body forever... Hey, what do you mean 'doomed'?"
Danny shrugged. "Well, I don't know... Maybe. You would have to ask Naecken."
Eurostar said, "And that brings us back on subject -- who are these five people?"
"We can't know if they are hostile or not," said Tobias. "I suggest we keep them locked up until they regain consciousness."
"Good idea," said Eurostar. "Let's go." The team started taking the five bodies to a place in their temporary hideout where they could keep them locked.
Meanwhile, somewhere else:
All K'tl saw was darkness. And he liked it that way. His new ally had been asleep for about half an hour. Good. His thoughts were starting to annoy him.
Suddenly, a bright light blinded him. "Insolent human! How dare you disrupt my rest?" the man said. The top of the dumpster he was resting in had been lifted, and there was a man with a shadow over his face standing out there, looking at him.
K'tl was ready to blow up his head when the shadowy man said, "Eduardo Frederico... or should I say, K'tl? I have a proposition for you."